Initiation

Chapter 6

I woke up to the sound of chirping birds the next morning. At first, I was comforted by the familiar, cute little peeping noises, but then I began to wonder how I was hearing them. I looked around. My window was wide open, my curtains fluttering in the breeze. A cold feeling settled in my gut. I grabbed my trusty baseball bat from the corner and slowly made my way towards the door. Coop was nowhere to be seen, and I was slightly panicking. The feeling from last night. This must be it, I wasn't crazy, there WAS someone out there last night, and I was ready for them now. I crept towards the stairs, and heard a muffled curse from the kitchen. Fear bubbled up inside me, but I squashed it back down. Deciding to keep the element of surprise on my side, I rushed from the stairs with a yell and hit the guy over the back of the head. He crumpled immediately. He was about 6'2", with shaggy brown hair and... Oh no.
"Will! Oh my god, Will! I'm so sorry!" I shouted.
"What's that coach?" Will said groggily.
Oh my god. I probably gave him a concussion. He started to sit up, laughing.
     "So this is the thanks I get for trying to make you breakfast" he joked. I looked up. Sure enough, there were scrambled eggs frying on the stove.
"Will I'm so sorry, but why the hell did you come through my window in my bedroom?" I asked.
"You're mom isn't home yet, so the door was locked. So was your back one, so I came in your window. Nice undies, by the way. I looked down. All I was wearing was a loose fitting pink tank top and bright blue Wonder Woman underwear. I was mortified. Silently I got up, and walked with all the dignity I could muster back up to my room. I could hear Will chuckling behind me. I got dressed in a navy blue t shirt and black leggings, putting my hair in a braid down the side. I came back down and Will was already eating, but he had saved me some.
     "Why are you even here Will? Why aren't you at home?" I asked.
"Well, you've been really distant recently, and I wanted to make sure you were ok. Plus, I have never have any good food at my house." He joked. I looked at the time. It was almost ten after eight.
"Holy crap! I'm gonna be late!" I screeched. I ran up the stairs to grab my backpack. I grabbed it, then went back down to get Will. I yanked him forward by the shirt collar, pulled him outside, and push him into the front seat of my Honda. We sped towards school narrowly missing 3 construction workers.
     "You're driving like a mad woman," Will began, holding onto the handle with all his might, "slow DOWN!" I glanced at my speedometer. My speed was over 90 km/h in a 60 zone. When we arrived at school, the tardy bell hadn't even rung yet. I rushed in from the parking lot, and sat down for first period English. That boy from the other day, Dylan, was there. I sat as far from him as possible, but watched him with curiosity from behind a dark curtain of hair. He was as handsome as I remembered. He wasn't hot, or cute, but classically handsome. His blue eyes somehow found mine. We locked eyes for a good chunk of time longer than we needed to. Then the teacher walked in, and class began. I found it hard to concentrate on the lesson, and I found myself just waiting for it to be over. But, the teacher had other plans.
"Ok class," she began, "we are starting with our first partner projects of the year. It's nothing huge, just a slideshow on the different idioms and hidden messages of 'The Lord of the Flies'." I groaned. I hated partner work, I always found I worked better alone. The teacher started listing off pairs. "Natalie and Will!" She called out. Ashlynn and Caitlyn!" She went on and on, until there were only a few people left. I realized Dylan and I both were among them. Please not him. I hoped. Please, ANYBODY but him.
"Jas and Dylan!" I sighed. How was I supposed to concentrate on anything when a literal god among mortals was sitting next to me the whole time? You don't like him. I told myself. You don't, so stop fussing. YOU DON'T!
"Hi." A masculine voice said, "I guess we're partners." I looked up at Dylan.
"I guess." I responded without enthusiasm. We started to discuss themes and possible idioms. He was pretty normal, as partners went. He wasn't exceptionally talkative, but not awkward either. When the bell rang, I was surprised that the period had gone bye so fast.
"See you in Bio." He gave a wave, and disappeared into the crowd. I had math next, and surprisingly it too went by in the blink of an eye. I had a short lunch break, and then I took my seat in the Biology classroom. The teacher, Mr. Brown, walked in a short while after me. He quoted something from Harry Potter that I didn't catch, and then started a lesson on the chemicals inside of a venomous snake's saliva. Even though I love bio, it went by as slow as molasses, a contrast to my last 2 classes. I glanced over at Dylan, who was, in addition to my English class, was in my Bio. He was acting really fidgety, and couldn't stop glancing at the clock. Finally, a few minutes before the bell rang, he grabbed his books and rushed out of the room. I was about to volunteer to go get him, and see if he was alright, when I heard an annoyingly high-pitched voice say
"I'll make sure he's alright Mr. Brown." It was Courtney. She gave me a smug look, as if she knew I had wanted to see him. I let her have her moment. She wanted to be immature? Fine by me.

• • •

At the end of the day, I sought out Will in the crowd. He spotted me first, and came over.
"Can't hang out tonight Jas. My Uncle is here from Greece, and my mom hasn't seen him in years, heck, I've never met the guy. Sorry..."
"It's fine," I assured him, but it wasn't. I needed him, I felt so weird, and I needed someone to talk to. Jess was out of town, and Allison was with Isaac tonight. I guess I would go home and cuddle with my beagle pup. I walked away, and drove home.
I was sitting at my kitchen table working on some math homework, when I heard a bang and a clatter from the side of the house. I slowly got to my feet, on edge. I crept to the window, heart fluttering in my chest. I opened the back door in the kitchen, and stepped outside. I heard a rustle in the shrub by the alley, and peered through the leaves. The rustle moved along the hedge, like a rabbit running through it, and I followed it, despite my fear. It went straight into the woods, and I heard a huge thump, and leaves rustling likely and branches snapping. It sounded like a huge struggle. I took a few tentative steps towards it, and saw a figure standing over another man who was lying on his back. The person on top raised his hand and brought it down with the force of a sledgehammer. I heard a disgusting crunching noise, like bone breaking. The man on top took a step back, the blood on his hand glistening in the moonlight. He dropped the rock he had used and it rolled to a stop by my feet, dripping that dark, wine red liquid. 
I screamed, and the figure turned. I stopped screaming out of shock. I knew that face.
"Jas," a voice began, "it's not what you think."