Daniel

Chapter 3 - Aidelle

Daniel awoke with a jolt, his breathing was harsh and his head burned, cold sweat covering his forehead. His heart was racing and he laid motionless, breathing deeply, in hopes of slowing it down. Wiping the sweat away, he got up from the bed, picking up his clothes from the floor.

Noticing the patches of red that nearly covered the entire back of his shirt, and his heart stopped as Daniel recollected what happened last night. He threw the stained shirt into the corner of his room and pulled out a clean one from his drawers, putting his clothes on, and gathered his bag.

Rushing down the stairs and through the hallway, he pulled on a jumper over his shirt, slamming the front door behind himself as he swung his bag over his shoulder. He walked down the street, his shoes scuffing against the concrete path, his hands were shaking and his breath was coming out in harsh, raspy bursts.

While he walked up the school steps he noticed a crowd of people, gathered around the wall outside the open hall doors, and Daniel could overhear Jeremy's voice booming from inside the encasement of people.

"My leg snapped from kicking the little rat Daniel too hard! I can't say it wasn't worth it!"

Daniel rushed inside the building, yanking open his locker and gathering his books. He slammed the locker shut and left for his classroom, not daring to turn around to look at the growing group of people standing outside the hall doors.

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The class went by slowly, while Daniel found it hard to concentrate on his work, he was listening intently to the murmuring voices around him. The conversations were all about what Jeremy had done to him. He couldn't stop thinking about what his mother had done to him last night either, and what he had done to Jeremy. The bell rang and Daniel got up, leaving in a hurry, while everyone gathered their work slowly, laughing quietly to one another as their gazes followed him out the door.

Daniel walked down the hall, watching as people leaned against the walls, talking, but all Daniel could feel was their eyes watching him. Opening his locker, he threw his books into it, before walking out of the building and resting against the tree.

He stared up through the branches, filled with brown, dying leaves. He noticed the grey clouds gathering above them, and he sighed to himself, burying his head in his hands.

"Hi," came a voice from close by, a female's voice.

Daniel looked up, and found a girl returning his stare. She smiled, a lovely smile. Her eyes were deep blue as the ocean, and her skin appearing slightly golden and soft. She had wavy, burgundy hair that blew sideways in the wind.

"Um, hello?" Daniel replied nervously.

"Can I sit down?" She asked sweetly.

"Sure, I guess."

The girl walked towards Daniel and sat down in front of him, crossing her legs.

"My name's Aidelle Durlan, what's yours?" she said as she held out her hand to shake his.

Daniel paused for a moment, eyeing her suspiciously, he found it unsettling to be in the presence of another person, as he would always be ignored or mocked.

"Uh, Daniel. Hey um, I'm not meaning to seem rude, but why did you come over here?

The girl put her hand down and rested it on her leg, looking at him as if surprised by something.

"Oh, you're that boy Jeremy's been talking about, right?" She asked.

Daniel nodded in response and she opened her mouth to continue.