Masked love

Chapter 10

The last thing that Joseph said lingered in her mind for the rest of the day. "You're going to be the one that's all alone." She knew it was directed at Stella, but what if he was wrong. Was she the one who was meant to be all alone? Other thoughts strayed into her mind. What was on that piece of paper that made Joseph get so angry? She couldn't bring herself to ask him anything about it.
The rest of the day was quiet. It seemed like Stella was finally backing off, and the day was almost over. Joseph and Nikita were walking together from gym to their final classes. As much as her thoughts were bothering her, she could tell that something was bothering Joseph just as much. Then he finally spoke, "so are you going to tell me how that wound happen?"
She tensed up quickly. The grip on his hand getting tighter. She would rather that she forget that whole morning. "I would rather not." She answered with her voice shaking.
They stopped at the division of the ninth and tenth hall. He grabbed the hand of the injured arm, which she had been keeping in the jacket pocket. He looked at the bandages under the sleeve. They had recently been changed in the class before. "Was it self-inflicted?" He asked, even though he felt that he already knew the answer. She could hear the pain and sadness in his voice. She nodded quietly. "Why?" He asked.
"That's... what I can't tell you." She answered sadly. She pulled her injured arm away from him and turned so he couldn't see her face. She was half tempted to pull away her other hand and run off. Her walls were going up again. "I should get to class. Thanks for walking with me this far." She pulled away slightly. Her grip loosened, attempting to slip out of his hand.
He quickly tighten his grasp of her hand and walked beside her. "I'll walk the rest of the way with you, and I'll wait until you're ready to tell me everything." He said kindly with only a wince of worry. "There's something I want to ask you though." He began to scratch the back of his head. "It's skate night at my house and my parents wanted me to bring someone. I was wondering if you would like to come. I'll pick you up and drop you off, and of course your dad can come too." He said quickly and nervously. Nikita's eyebrow instantly knitted in worry. She wanted to go, but would her father let her? Could she even remember how to skate? It had been so long since she last went, that she might just embarrass herself. Joseph looked at her face. "You can say no. It won't hurt my feelings." He spoke softly.
Nikita shook her head, and they began to walk to her art class. "I want to go. It's just that-" she began to explain. "I-I'll have to run it by my father to see what he says."
"You can text me what he says when you get the chance." He said hopefully.
"Y-yeah the other thing is that I-I haven't been in a long while. I-I don't exactly remember how to." She said nervously.  They walked down the hall quickly, almost at the classroom.
"Well I can help you. That's not a big deal." As they stopped at the classroom, he looked at her. "You'll just have to trust me." She looked down at her hand in his. She knew she could do it, but the thoughts of others worried her. He touched her shoulder, "we're going to have fun so don't worry about anything else." Nikita smiled truly. Joseph made her feel safe, happy, and worry-less. They heard a couple girls giggling, and turned to see some students in the doorway of Nikita's classroom. Joseph began scratching the back of his head. "You should probably get to class." He said with slight embarrassment. 
"Yeah, probably. Um Joseph," she addressed him with a half-smile. He looked at her returning the smile. "As long as my father allows it, I'll come." She said hopeful. He nodded and let go of her hand. She waved goodbye, as she walked into the classroom.
When she approached the door, many girls ran to quickly take their seats. They whispered happily, as Nikita took her seat in the back. One of the girls stopped her, "that boy you were talking to, is he your boyfriend?" She asked giddily.
Nikita felt her cheeks heat up, "N-no we're j-just friends." Why did she feel so nervous?
The girl chuckled softly giving her a thumbs up, "Not yet, huh. It's good to see you with someone."
"Yeah, no kidding. You always look so sad and alone walking in here." Another girl nearby said. "That guy will be good for you." Nikita nodded not knowing how to respond. She kept walking and took her seat with a breath of relief.
Then the girl beside her spoke, "Hi my name's Carol. I couldn't help but over hear. Is it true, the most talented and quietest girl in this class has a boyfriend?"
"Umm are you t-talking about me? I wouldn't exactly say I'm the most talented, but quietest is probably true." Nikita responded avoiding the question.
"Have you seen how many awards outside this classroom have your name on? That's got to be a record or something. It's probably a good thing that you're modest." She said. Carol had a friendly voice and kind voice, but talking to her made Nikita feel uneasy. The bell rang, and Nikita along with others rose to get their work that they were working on. Carol walked beside her. "You know you didn't answer my question earlier." She said addressing the elephant in the room.
"We're just friends." Nikita answered quickly, picking up her artwork. Carol picked up hers, which was right beside Nikita's.
They headed back to their seats, before Carol spoke again. "So what's your new project? I've been working on a portrait of mythical creatures. I might use this as a book cover for a story I'm writing, called Shadow Storm." She uncovered her sketch to revel a mythical forest with a eagle-like fairy laying on a dragon. It wasn't colored or very detailed yet.
Nikita uncovered her drawing of her memory. It may not have been colored yet, but it was very detailed. "It's a memory portrait of when I was younger. I'm making it for an old friend." She answered softly.
"Didn't you just start that yesterday? It looks really good." Carol said.
"Thanks, I'm hoping to finish it today." Nikita said. Carol looked like she wanted to keep talking, but Nikita pulled out her cd player. "You don't mind if I get into my zone, do you?" She asked with courtesy.
Carol shook her head, but she looked a little disappointed. "No go ahead." She said, and went to work on her portrait.
Nikita put in her earbuds and let the music drain everything away. She picked up her pencil and started drawing. ~ Can you hear me? Can you hear me?~ The soft music played in her ears, as she drew the shadows of her, Stella, and Zeak. The shadows aged, depicting how they looked now. They stood alone no longer connected. ~ No longer silent, Hear my voice~ Details were added, making her portrait come alive. In the storm clouds she wrote the next verse of the song. ~ I still remember who we once were, You were never forgotten~. A tear escaped her eye, as she looked at her work. The last of the lyrics were playing in her ears. She added the finishing touches and shading, and paused her cd player. She looked at Carol, who was now coloring her book cover. The color added life to the cover.
Nikita opened her backpack and pulled out her pencil pouch filled with color pencils. Playing her music, she began to add color and life to her portrait. ~ They exist on my face, and in my heart. They have reopened, many times before. Scars of pain, scares of tears. They are there like rivers on my face and painfully clawed into my heart~. The young Nikita's feathered shawl now had different shades of purple and blue, and she was wearing a pretty pearly white dress. Young Zeak's outfit was next. ~ It hurts to say. More and more are created each day, with every strike of pain~. The lyrics instilled emotion in her, as her eyes became watery. The young Zeak was now wearing a shirt that was a solid brown color and camouflage pants. His hair had dark roots, but the rest was blonde. ~Silence is golden. Loneliness is guaranteed, that's why they are created~. She colored Stella's hair a bright blonde and added some pink to her mouse ears. ~ In my heart, clawed and thrashed painfully and violently, yet painless~. She colored the letters, using Stella's favorite color from her memory, sea foam green. She used shades of blacks and grays to color the stormy background, as more music played in her ears. She colored their current outfits, giving life to the shadows. The colors of the shadows was darker and sadder. The portrait was almost finished. She grabbed some clear glitter paper and stuck it to the younger Stella's dress to make it sparkle. She remembered how much Stella had loved glitter.
When she was finished, she could feel the presence of the people people behind her. She slowly turned off her music and pulled out her earphones. "Wow, that's amazing. Whoever you're making that for should treasure that." Carol said, standing just behind her shoulder. Other students were staring in amazement from behind her.
"I'm surprised you're not sending that in for an award. You must really care for this person." Another student said. Nikita nodded, getting up from her seat.
She walked over to her teacher. "Could I get an envelope to put my portrait in? It's a gift for someone." She asked.
"As long as you don't mind me looking at the work before you give it away." The teacher answered. Nikita nodded with a small smile. He pulled out a large orange envelope from one of his desk drawers, and followed Nikita back to her seat. He looked at the portrait. "This is really good. What do you call this piece?" He asked handing her the envelope.
"Shadowed Memories." Nikita replied. She wrote on one side of the envelope,  for: Stella I remember.
As people went back to their seats, she placed the portrait in the envelope and sealed it closed. She packed up her cd player and colored pencils as the bell ranged loudly. "See you next time." Carol said, leaving Nikita behind in the classroom. Nikita waved goodbye in acknowledgement, but said nothing. She put on her backpack and left the empty classroom, with her envelope in hand. She waited in the hallway, leaning against the lockers. She looked around for Joseph towards the beginning of the hall, listening to the loud clamor behind her. Someone was coming. She looked behind her and saw Stella's step-brother Braxen. He looked down at her with a smirk. He balled up his fists slowly. Nikita backed away from him with fear in her eyes. Her back was against the lockers with nowhere to go. His smile grew as he prepared to throw the first punch. She closed her eyes in anticipation.

End of chapter 10