Dangerous »ᴄɵᴍᴘᴌᴇтᴇ«

NINE

NINE [Blade "Zero" Kiren]

I yawned. Again. What was the point in school anyway? I wondered the following morning as I heard my name being called, waking me from my nap. You didn't get paid. And all you got taught were things you wouldn't need in everyday life. I wouldn't have come in today if I hadn't said to Madisyn I would see her after school. After a seven hour shift last night, I'd managed to squeeze in a two hour nap before I had another five hour shift this morning. I was exhausted.

"Mr. Kiren!" his voice pushed me back into the present, I lifted my head off the desk to see that bastard assistant staring at me from the front of the classroom. The one who'd been touching Madisyn. I felt a strange growl build in my chest at the memory of seeing him touch her.

"What?" I snapped, annoyed at being woken. Annoyed at the memory. Furious at him. Scared for her. The last gave me a pause.

"I thought that we should explore your hidden talent with art," Mr. Rossie said with a smirk. "What do you see in this piece?"

He gestured the picture on the wall that was being projected by a projector hanging on the ceiling, connected to his laptop. It was of an elder gentleman and a young girl by a piano. The young girl was clearly getting off the elder man's lap. I smirked. "I see you."

He blinked at me as the others around me chuckled. Madisyn, who was sitting to my right, glanced at me with a curious expression.

"What do you mean?" Mr. Rossie asked as though he didn't really want to ask.

"Well, you look like an old man for one. And this guy," I gestured the image on the wall. "Clearly likes younger girls too."

The class said nothing in response. Everyone went silent. I was actually afraid that Madisyn was going to pass out from holding her breath. Mr. Rossie blinked at me as though trying to understand what I'd just said. He stiffened when he finally understood. "Get out of my class, Mr. Kiren. Now!"

Was that really the best he could come up with? "Why, so you can harass your female students?"

He looked like a fish as his skin turned a dirty red and his mouth open and closed in shock. "Go and see the headmaster, Mr. Kiren, hopefully he'll be able to stop the lies pouring from your mouth."

I stood then, glaring at Mr. Rossie. "Do not accuse me of lying. I do not lie," I said slowly, the anger coursing through my veins making it difficult to think something other than ripping his head from his shoulders. There were several things that could send me from happy or fine to pissed in seconds. Accusing me of lying when I didn't was one of them.

Suddenly Madisyn's voice hit me like a truck without breaks. "The picture is the Awakening Conscience, it was painted by William Hunt in eighteen-fifties. It shows a women rising from her lover's lap. But there are other pointers in the painting that say she wasn't there willingly, that she was deceived into marriage."

People were staring at Madisyn in shock. Hell, I knew I was. But, as her words started to make sense, I turned back to Mr. Rossie with a smirk. "You really didn't choose the right picture for us to explain."

The bell went then, making nearly every student in the room jump.

"Class dismissed," Mr. Rossie said before taking his leave with a furious look in his eyes.

Once the door behind him was closed, voices rose.

"What was that about?"

"Do you really think Mr. Rossie harasses younger girls? I thought he was nice."

"How did Zero know?"

"What's going on between Zero and the Freak? They seem to be getting close lately."

"I wonder what Lucy would make of this? The Freak standing up for Zero."

"Do you think Mr. Rossie went after the Freak? Is that why Zero said that?"

By the end of the day, I knew that there would be at least one rumour going around the school.

As Madisyn picked everything up and went to leave the room, I followed her. Looking her over, I wondered why she'd spoken up. "Didn't think you had it in you."

Madisyn jumped, spinning to face me with shocked olive eyes, showing that she hadn't been aware that I was following her. "Huh?"

"Talking in front of a class."

She blushed, making me grin. But then I had to ask. "Why?"

She met my eyes and held them. A rush of pleasure ran through me to know that this was a sign of her trust. "I... I was scared."

"Scared?"

She nodded.

"Why? I wouldn't hurt you, and I won't let him hurt you either."

"I wasn't scared for me."

I blinked at her. She wasn't scared for her? Then who was she scared for? Me? "Who then?"

"You. I don't want you getting expelled for getting into a fight with a teacher. It's not worth it."

I raised a brow at that. "You sure about that?"

She nodded. And I could see in her eyes that she was serious.

"So the next time he comes at you, I should let him have you?" I asked harshly. Anger started to burn through me at the thought of letting him get that close to her again.

She flinched.

I sighed. "I'm just saying that I don't give a shit if I get expelled. Just as long as I take him out with me."

She looked at me in surprise then.

"What? And don't give me that crap about how I need education, I don't care. I'm only here because I promised." And for you, but I left that unsaid. As she didn't reply, I asked another question. "What are you thinking about?"

"You."

I smirked. "You seem to be doing that a lot."

"Only recently," she replied honestly.

I grinned. "What about me this time?"

"You're very brave."

"Why does that sound like "you're very stupid"?"

She grinned. And it was beautiful. It made her whole face lighten. All stress was gone. Her olive eyes sparkled. And I was sure my heart just missed a beat.

"Well, thanks," I said as though annoyed when really my breath shuddered in delight at her grin.

She looked down, but the smile was still on her face.

"What have you got now?" I asked her, changing the topic before it became something I wouldn't want to hold myself back from. Before I knew it would become something I would regret because I knew she wouldn't be ready.

"Study period then art."

I gave her a nod when she looked back at me. "I'll be back for after school, I've got work."

She went to open her mouth, but stopped before giving me a nod. I grinned, knowing that she wanted to tell me I had to stay here for school. But she didn't.

Turning for the car park, I jumped into my Dodge. Ignition on, I drove out of my space and headed for work... It was only as I was going sixty in a thirty and the lights changed to red that I realised I was about to crash into the lorry that was halfway across the road, that I had no brakes.

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