CORRUPT WITH SHADOW

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER ONE. "Grow up Connor..." I shove him away as I finish reading the last few lines of a book I was reading. We were in social studies class. Boring as ever... Learning about, what was it? Great Depression? Screw that.

"Oii... If you stopped reading then looking up at the blonde..." My cheeks filled with flames as I felt them going red.

"Shut up!" I playfully bashed Connor in the side of the arm. He was right of course. I had a habit of looking up at her, oh my. She had golden hair that flowed like ethereal waterfalls, blue eyes that shone like polished diamonds in the sunlight... Her smile. It was so lush and red from her lips, and it was able to calm the most furious of beasts, by my reckoning.

"Alright class... Listen here!" The teacher was incredibly old fashioned, reminded me of dad. I smiled and put the book down and listened to him.

"Now at the start of..." I didn't hear the rest of what he was saying... I zoned out. History sucks. I must of lost track of time when Connor nudged me again, the teacher supposedly asked me a question to see if I was listening.

"Psst... Spencer the answer is five." Connor smiles. I nod and grin at him, thank god he was a life saver.

"Five, sir!" I smile at him but he gave me a confused look.

"So the reason why the Great Depression started in 1929 on Black Thursday, is five? Pity boy... If you just stop staring at Astrid then you'd pass my class!" The class burst into a humilating and sinister laughter. At my expense. I shot Connor a death stare but I ended up laughing with him. But what caught my attention was... Astrid wasn't laughing, she blew blonde streaks out of her visage and flashed a quick smile at me. I smiled back and hid the fact I wanted to throw up from the butterflies, which erupted within me. Gods I'm so weak.

"Wow Connor you're a dick..." I muttered to him, he gave me a cheeky thumbs up and muttered back.

"Astrid smiled at you!" I socked him one in the arm and he returned with a blow into my shoulder.

"I swear to god..." I poked my tongue out at Connor, and with that the bell rung.

"See you after recess, English next eh?" I nodded and collected my things and trailed out of class. Recess time!

*********************************************************************************************************** "See the problem is Spencer... She's just out of your league..." I was sitting with my best friend. Her name was Jessica. I always came to her for advice so I figured I'd talk to her about my little 'crush'. "I'm joking!" She smiled brightly, blowing her red hair out of her face against the wind as she saw the disappointment in my eyes.

"Yeah okay... Soul taker!" I giggled and she slapped me softly. I always make fun of her ginger hair. "She probably is though... Ugh..." I placed my head in my hands, sharp pain flashed inside my skull.

"You okay?" Jess's face shot with concern.

"I'm fine... That. That hasn't happened before..." I shook it off and smiled.

"I better get to class... Catchya' later mister lovesick!." As I walked off, she poked her tongue at me. I headed in the direction of my class and wondered. 'What was that...? That headache thing...' I noticed that my hands seemed...

"Hey Spencer Grimm!" Oh no... Not this again. Declan and his mates were standing between me and my English class, instead of confronting them. I trailed back and got a drink from the fountains instead. Assuring I was going to be late for class... Perfect! I snuck into class and nodded my head.

"Sorry I'm late..." I muttered as I wiped my mouth from the water dripping down it. Connor wasn't here yet... What sort of trouble is he in now. I sat at the back and noticed how everyone was at least a few seats away from me. Great... I sunk down into my chair and took out all my gear, among which was a black book. 'Der Wahnsinn' it was titled. It was a book I tried writing but I never got to finishing it. I looked around and noticed, the teacher isn't even ready yet for the lesson yet. She was fiddling around with the computer which was hooked up to the 'Smartboard'. The teacher was probably older than the whole set up itself! I wrote a few lines down in my book, then I sensed a presence moving closer from behind me. I could feel its warmth and heard its breath as whoever it was decided to sit directly behind me. Then I heard a whisper which seemed very close to my ear. "Hey Spencer." It was a quiet, a subtle yet shy whisper but it's affect wasn't so subtle at all. I felt like my stomach had tied itself into knots as a wave of the butterflies washed over me, while stones embedded themselves into my throat. I tried to force myself to reply against the nerves...

"H-Hey Astrid..." Wow. Stuttering... Perfect job Spencer. I turned around to meet her gaze, diamonds looking back into my eyes as she smiled a greeting. I almost forgot to turn back round if it wasn't for the teacher telling the class to pay attention. It was about time. She began talking about the literature we were studying. Shakespeare... Typical. I tried to shut out the horrid sound of the old teachers voice, going on, and on, and on... No one better deserved the name of Mrs. Doomer. Or Mrs. DOOMERER of all... My thoughts seemed so, scrambled. I kept reminding myself that Astrid was right behind me. I didn't want to do something weird then she'd look at me, like I'm some sort of freak. I grew more and more worried for Connor though... Where is he? "That isn't an English book..." Astrid's soft voice whispered cheekily towards me. It was almost as if she knew what affect she had on me.

"Haha..." I chuckled nervously.

"It's nothing..."

"Der... What?" She smiled brightly, peering over my shoulder to see the cover of the, black as death covered book. I made eye contact with her briefly then tried to explain.

"Der Wahnsinn..." I tried saying without ruining the pronunciation. Good that it came out right. "German?" Oh good. Astrid seems somewhat intelligent. You know what they say about blondes... "Yeah... Just the title though, it's a story I've been working on."

"Could I... Sit next to you and read it?" Was I still awake? Was I dreaming? Astrid wants to sit next to me... To read some of my work. Thank you, God!

"S-sure..." I smiled and pulled the chair out for her to sit beside me. The teacher didn't notice. Mrs. Doomer was too busy yelling at Blake for throwing a pen at Jake's head. Astrid flicked over the first few pages and began reading.

"Page six is a little..."

"Shhhh..." She looked at me and smirked, putting a finger to my lips. I... Wow. Yep. I looked over to the teacher and made sure no one noticed that she was reading my work and not Shakespeare's. Astrid bit her lip at a few points while reading which made anxiety shoot through me like lightning, some parts she smiles and others she seemed a little... Upset?

"Wow... Spencer..." She mutters still immersed in my story, I smiled sweetly at her, the way I was looking at her... I was lucky she wasn't looking back at me. I looked up and made sure Mrs Doomer wasn't catching on to me; idly fiddling with my pen and admiring Astrid. (As per the usual.)

"That was awesome!" She whispers to me, handing back the deathly black book.

"Thanks..." I was about to finish off the sentence till that, sharp pain flashed inside my head and through my eyes... I swear they were flickering a different colour.

"Whoa are you okay...?" Astrid asks, obvious concern riddling in her tone. I managed to shake my head, and as soon as I did. Astrid got up and explained to Mrs Doomer why she had to run out of class with me to the nurse's office. The pain was blinding but before long, Astrid helped me towards the nurse's and kicked the door open. Jarrod, our school nurse peered from the book he was reading and panicked in alarm and rushed towards me, apparently my appearance was worse than I felt. Then I felt myself fading... I collapsed and fell asleep on the jet black couch against the wall of the nurse's office.