The Raven

The Raven (Introduction... sort of XD)

I guess you can say I'm a little different. Socially awkward, a day dreamer, wallflower. You can call me all of these things. I can also hear things that most humans aren't physically capable of hearing and sometimes I notice things that other humans don't. My name is Skylar. I'm a 16 ½ year old orphan, and I don't have many friends.

As I get ready for school, I can hear the old, rusty school bus and the sound of annoying, sassy kids coming from a few miles away. I put my dark, brown hair into a french braid and hang my lucky snake fang necklace around my neck. I had on some new jeans and a black t-shirt that was a size too big for me. Even though I loved all the patterns and designs on clothing, the orphanage only allowed plain clothes unless you bought your clothes with your own money. I was surprised. Today was the day I actually thought I looked decent.

<30 minutes later>

The bus let me out and I walked across the school yard. Suddenly, I got a sinking feeling like something bad was about to happen. A kid stuck their foot out and tripped me, cackling as they ran away with their friends. Ouch. Not this again. My hand had a scrape on it, but otherwise I was fine.

A quiet voice that was just loud enough for me to hear brought me back to reality.

"Hey" the voice said.

I turned around and looked behind me. A boy was standing there, his hands casually in his pockets. I guessed he was about the same age as me. He was different than other boys though. He almost looked like he didn't come from this place. Shaking my head, I decided he was probably an exchange student. He probably came from somewhere tropical.

He had tan skin, jet black hair that fell over part of his face, and emerald green eyes that glinted in the light. Wow.... those eyes. I could see the different shades of green and black swirling in them even though he was standing a foot away. I felt my heartbeat start to accelerate. He extended his arm and held out his hand to help me up. I sensed a strange calmness in him. I decided he probably wasn't afraid of people like I was. He almost didn't seem human.

I took hold of his hand and he pulled me up. I looked down at the ground instantly.

"Thanks" I mumbled. I wasn't very good at talking to people I didn't know.

"No problem."

His voice even sounded different. It was smooth and his words flowed fluently.

I couldn't keep myself from looking at his eyes any longer. I slowly lifted my head up. They were so green they reminded me of emerald jewels with black tiger stripes. Then, he blinked.

"Oh! Sorry...." I say quickly.

He smiled which made my heart beat faster.

"It's fine. My name's Raven. What's yours?"

Wow.... even his name is unique.

"Oh.... ummm.... My name's Skylar." I say quietly. Then, I look back down again. He made me so nervous. Becoming distracted, I start hearing different conversations across the school yard. Skylar, focus. Someone is talking to you.

I hear him laugh. Was he laughing at me? Worried, I snap my head up.

"You seem pretty cool!"

He was basically stating the opposite of me.

"Well, I hope to see you around sometime." He smiled again, waved his hand at me, and walked away.

I've got to stop acting like a fool, but I couldn't stop myself from grinning.

We were now a few months into the school year. Raven and I had become good friends. When he found out I lived in an orphanage, I thought he wouldn't want to be friends with me anymore, but he was fine and told me he used to live in an orphanage too, but in another country. I asked him where he was from, but he quickly changed the subject. I sensed sadness in him, but I didn't know why. I decided not to push the subject anymore. For some odd reason, I smiled. I was relieved when he smiled back because I was hoping to lighten the mood.

A few weeks later, Raven was getting his lunch. I noticed he never ate much. Just a few bites each day. Again, I got the same sinking feeling like another bad thing was about to happen. I was sitting down waiting for him when some girls walked up to me. There were about three or four of them and they all had clothing with different designs and patterns on them. I have to admit, I felt a little jealous.

"Can you move?" They all said at the same time.

I've got to admit, that was a little creepy.

I stared at the ground feeling tears well in my eyes. Oh great, just what I need. Some snotty girls trying to tell me what to do.

"Um.... no." I replied. This was my seat. I knew it was silly fighting over, but I didn't want them to think they could boss me around all the time. They rolled their eyes all at the same time. Yet again, creepy.

One of the girls with a long blonde ponytail and a pink shirt with white stripes on it stepped forward. I'm pretty sure she had hair extensions in and was wearing fake eyelashes. I'm also pretty sure nobody noticed how fake she looked.

"Excuse me?" She asked.

"Are you deaf? I said no." I responded with bitterness seeping into my voice. I was surprised my voice didn't waver or crack and that it was loud enough to hear. My heart pounded as kids started to stare.

In a flash, she reached her hand up and slapped me, her fake nails clawing my face. My cheek burned and I felt a drop of blood trickle down my cheek. Kids started laughing and I felt tears well in my eyes. I wouldn't cry in front of all these people.... I couldn't.

A black blur whizzed past me and a black feather fell to the ground unnoticed by the rest of the kids. I had never seen anyone run that fast before. Then, I saw it. Those emerald, green eyes glowing with fury and hatred.

At an extremely fast speed, he grabbed the girl by her hair and slammed her into the wall. He smashed his knee into her stomach repeatedly making her gag and choke as the teachers ran to the scene as quickly as they could.

Everything after that went by in just a few minutes. All I can remember is Raven being dragged out of the cafeteria by teachers. The odd thing was he didn't resist. He just stared at me with those emerald green eyes. Then, he smirked. No one else noticed it, but I think he had fangs.

When I got back to the orphanage I ran up to my room, slamming the door behind me and cried. The next day I heard that Raven had been suspended. I was glad he wasn't expelled, but I still felt dreadful.

Later that day, I trudged to his house. I had been there a few times before. I stopped and paused for a second at the front door before I rang the doorbell. I thought his parents were going to answer like they usually did, but instead Raven opened the door. Seeing him in his black t-shirt and jeans made me feel like I was going to cry again. It was my fault. I shouldn't have been so stubborn about a stupid seat.

"Why did you do that?" I choked.

"You were hurt." He replied calmly.

"All she did was slap me! It wasn't that bad." I said frustrated.

"You were bleeding. I couldn't stand to see you in that sort of situation. It killed me so I knew I had to do something because you're important to me."

Smiling, we talked for a few more minutes until I went home. After that day, I kept coming by after school to visit Raven since we didn't get to hang out at school anymore. I found out he's extremely smart, but I think he likes to pretend that he's not. He also helped me develop more social skills. I didn't stare at the ground as much anymore and I was starting to make new friends. Although, two questions still linger in my mind. Where does Raven come from and what is he?