The Missing Puzzle Piece

Chapter One

Ella's POV

Junior year. Two more years left to find that special someone. I know I shouldnt be putting a deadline on love, but oh well. It's the first day of school today. And I'm sure that it's going to be good. We were supposed to get a lot of new transfer students this year. Hopefully, one of the boys finds a girl with autism attractive.

As I push open the brown doors in the front of the school, I look around at all the new and familiar faces. Everyone is in new clothes, bright, and summery. Me? I'm in shorts and a sweatshirt. I'm not big on making an impression on people. They usually don't talk to me because of my outbursts. It's alright though, I like spending time reading and escaping the human world for a fictional one.

Walking up to my locker and putting in the combination, I look around one more time for any cute new faces. Instead my gaze falls on Ryder and his friends. Ryder is a mean kid. He doesn't care who you are, if you aren't a cheerleader or on the baseball team he will literally make your life hell. Trust me, I know what that is.

I look over his friends finding one new face. He must be a transfer student. I can tell you this, he is an attracitve human being. He has black hair that covers his forehead and the brightest brown eyes I've ever seen. He's wearing black skinny jeans and a black tight shirt. The definition of a badboy. While he's talking to the other guys there, he throws his head back in laughter. A laugh that fills the air.

Him, Ryder, and Joey, one of Ryder's friends, walk by and stop in front of me. Ryder looks at me and smirks, "Didn't think you'd come back to this school another year."

"You said that last year," I retort. I put my hands in the pocket of my sweatshirt and refuse to back down from the fight. I look between him and Joey finding them laughing, then looking to the new kid and looking in his eyes seeing if anything is different with him.

"Stop staring at me, freak," he says. My gaze quickly move away to the ground. He puts a hand on the lockers beside me and I flip out. I bring my hand out of my pocket and punch him in the nose. He covers his nose and pulls his hand away looking at the blood on his palm. "Bitch!"

After realizing what I did my eyes widen and I try to run but Joey grabs my arm and spins me back towards the kid. I'm breathing heavily and getting overwhelmed. I start crying and Joey lets go and I collapse to the ground. I can hear loud footsteps running towards us. Arms are wrapped around me and I'm being shushed and being told it's alright.

"You stay," I hear said. It feels like ten minutes go by before I stop crying and look up to find the kid sitting on the other side of the hallway holding a tissue to his nose and Mr. Matt, my literature teacher rubbing my back. Mr. Matt is kind of life a protecter to me I guess. He's about twenty-five and has short brown hair. "Now let's go to my classroom. Both of you."

I nod and stand up checking to see if the kid is doing the same. I follow behind Mr. Matt to his room and sit in a desk beside the kid. I still don't know his name. "You're new here right, Parker?" Parker is his name, not kid. He nods. "Well would you mind explaining to me what happened in the hallway before first period?"

"Joey, Ryder, and I were just talking to her and I put my hand on the locker and she freaks out and punches me in the nose and falls to the ground and starts crying. I really didn't do anything, sir."

"Ella?" I move my gaze up to Mr. Matt, "Is that what happened?" I don't want to get Parker in trouble but I also need to tell him what happened.

"Will he get in trouble?" I ask quietly putting my hands to my face. I hate talking to people. Even Mr. Matt. It's just so hard to explain things and get my words out the way they are in my head. He shakes his head and I tell what else happened, "uh, Ryder said, he said, uh, said that he didn't think I'd come back to school here. And um. Parker called me a freak and uh got close to me and I got, I, I got scared," I finish.

"Took you long enough to spit that out," Parker says laughing. He's leaning back in the chair with his arms foldeed. I guess his nose stopped bleeding. "Don't forget the part when I called you a bitch," he adds, "that was my favorite part."

"Mr. Daniels that's enough from you. You will be serving an after school detention today at three-thirty." I thought he said he wouldn't get in trouble.

"What about her!? She's the one that punched me!" He stands up and yells pointing at me. Mr. Matt gives me a sympathetic look that says 'I'm sorry but I have to be fair'. He writes us both a slip for being late to class and a detention slip. "Thank you!" We both walk out and turn different ways. I walk towards my Algebra 2 class while we walks towards the social studies side of the building.

At the end of the day I'm sat in room 303 reading The Fault In Our Stars for the third time. I look up to see Parker walk into the room and sit in a seat at the back of the room and puts in his earphones. The music is so loud that I can hear all the lyrics being sung. One of the songs caches my attention. I look up to the board and ask, "You listen to Sleeping With Sirens?"

Surprisingly he hears me and answers, "uh yeah." Without turning around I can tell he feels awkward. "You?"

"Yeah. What's your favorite song by them? Mines With Ears to See and Eyes to Hear." I still stare straight ahead. I close my book and put it down when I don't receive an answer from him.

"You know you can turn around. I'm not going to talk to the back of your head," he says. I turn halfway in my seat to see him smiling at me. "Mines If I'm James Dean, Then Your Audrey Hepburn. Do you want to listen?" I shake my head but before I can decline he pulls out the chair beside him and pats the seat. "Come on."

I reluctantly get up and walk to the back of the room and sit in the seat beside him. He hands me an ear plug and I take it, placing it in my ear. I sit up straight, getting overwhelmed by how close we are. Once the song With Ears to See and Eyes to Hear begins playing I relax a little.

'True friends lie underneath

These witty words I don't believe

I can't believe a damn thing they say anymore

Lie! Lie! Liar! Liar you'll pay for your sins,

Lie! Lie! Liar! Liar you'll pay for yours sins..'

I close my eyes and completely relax. My hands in my lap are stil and I just sit there and listen to the lyrics. This song always calms me down in any situation. I fell in love with this song freshman year. That was the worst year of my life. I was made fun of everyday. I couldn't control myself and I would cry and scream over stupid things. I was a complete fool that year. Nobody knew I had autism. Nobody knew what to do with me when I completely broke down during class and in the hallways. I'd sit alone a lunch and read, trying to forget the human world and everything in it.

When the song ends I open my eyes to find Parker looking at me. "You're crying," he states. I look at his eyes and then quickly look down. I take the end of my sleeve and run it under my eyes wiping away the tears. I hate that I can't control anything I do. "Are you alright?" I nod and take out the earbud and set it on the table before walking back to where I was. "Ella? Do you still want to listen to music?"

I close my eyes and shake my head. It's only been about twenty minutes since detention started. We still have forty or so minutes left. I lay my head down on the table and breathe slowly.

I hear Parker walk over to me and sit next to me. I hear him sigh and he taps on the desk. "We have thirty minutes left," he says tiredly.

"I'm going home," I reply. I stand up and grab my book and backpack and walk out the door. I can hear him follow me as I walk out of the school.

"Are you walking home?" He asks running to catch up with me. I nod and continue walking. "Do you live close?" I shake my head no and cross my arms. "Would you like a ride?"

Before I can shake my head again he picks me up and throws me over his shoulder. "Put me down! Please! Parker!" He walks to a black truck and sets me down on the passenger side. He buckles me in and shuts the door before walking around to the other side and getting in. "This is kidnapping."

He chuckles and shakes his head before starting the car. "You're adorable."

Wait what?