Mismatched

Chapter Twelve

In Biology, after we finish our in class assignment, Axl and I sit quietly in our seats like we usually do, but now I am itching to break the silence. His actions earlier sparked the idea that he wasn't completely wretched and it's messing with my head.

When we first met, he bit my head off for accidentally bumping into him, showing me what a complete and total dickhead he could be. Almost every encounter after that we bickered at each other or ignored one another completely. Today we actually spoke more than two words at lunch and then he helped me when I was about to biff it in the hall and get trampled to death by ignorant teenagers.

Also, I got him to smile.
He has a pretty nice smile.
He seems almost human today. Then I hear Reed's words echo in my head.
He's dangerous.
I don't trust that guy.

Is all this just a facade or is this behavior the real Axl? Will we continue to get along or will he just snap out of it and start attacking me or someone I care about?

I watch him as he doodles in an empty notebook, ignoring the rest of the students in class. A pretty redhead gently tosses a folded note across the aisle onto his paper, I can see his name written on the front. Misspelled, I might add. He flicks the note out of the way and continues doodling. I see the redhead deflate with disappointment. She was probably going to ask his to Homecoming. Axl doesn't seem like the Homecoming type.

My eyes fall on his left forearm, now covered by his long shirt sleeve again. I don't think I was imagining it before. I think he has his mark, but why would he cover it up? Maybe something happened to his Match and it's a bad reminder of her. It makes me think back to the dinning hall and his words about his Match. Has he already meet her? Where is she? How did he describe her? Intelligent, confident, strong, witty. His voice snaps me out of my musings.

"Why are you staring at me?" He asks without looking up from his doodling. I try and make up a logical explanation and decide to go with something close to the truth. We are at a unspoken truce of sorts, so at this point I think we are considered the very best of frienemies and I should be able to converse like normal folk do. Right?

"You didn't want to read your note?" I ask

"No."

"Don't like the girl?" I ask.

"Don't know the girl. Don't care to." He grumbles.

"Were you telling the truth at lunch?" I ask.

"About what?"

"What you want in your Match. Do you think that's what she will be like?" Now I've got his attention. He puts his pen down and looks over at me.

"Yes." He answers simply.

"What if she's not like that?" I ask. "Or what if she really is like Samantha? Would you reject her?"

"She won't be." He answers confidently. I feel my eyebrows draw together.

"But what if she is? You can't predict something like that." I reply. "Have you already met your Match?" He doesn't answer right away, only studies me curiously.

"Where is this coming from?" He finally asks.

"Just wondering out loud, I guess."

"She won't be like that Samantha chick because I can't stand girls like her and our Matches are supposed to be a perfect fit, our other half. That's how I know. Maybe my she won't be exactly like I said, but I think she's close." He explains. "Someone like Samantha wouldn't ever be a good fit for me."

"So, you're not even interested in having fun with someone like her, or that cute little redhead that passed you the note, before you meet your Match? I hear some guys like to do that."

"No. I don't see the point of doing that. It would only hurt her when she found out. Would you like it if your Match messed around before being with you?" He asks.

"Not particularly." I answer honestly, "You seem to have put a lot of thought on the matter." I observe and he shrugs one shoulder.

"I guess." He says dismissively. "Probably the result of seeing Shale with your sister. Seeing it actually happen will make you think about it." He tilts his head and observes me. "What about you? Why are you so curious? Been thinking about your perfect Match a lot lately?" He asks.

I have, if only because I just got my mark. It's finally darkened completely and when I look in the mirror, I can clearly see the shape of the crossed arrows and shield perfectly.

"I always believed that you should respect your Match even before meeting them." I tell him. "To me, that kind of behavior, messing around or whatever, always felt like it would be cheating. Even though you haven't met them yet, you know you're going to be with this person that will be perfect for you. Why bother with anyone else, you know?"

"What if your Match isn't perfect? Will you want to reject him?" He asks. I think about it while staring at the far wall.

"I don't think anyone is really perfect, but my Match is supposed to be perfect for me. Since I have a twin, the concept is weird because technically I already have a person that is my other half. I'm hoping my Match will complete me in a way that Bryony can't. She's my best friend and sometimes we have the weird twin telepathy where she knows what I'm thinking or I know if she's hurt, but I still sometimes feel like the older sister. I protect her, I keep her safe but now she has Shale so I don't need to fill that role."

"So you want someone else to protect?" He asks.

"Actually, I think I'd like to be the one to feel protected because it's something I haven't had, except from my parents of course." I answer honestly.

"So what's McIntyre then? Is he your protector?" He asks. I hear the sharpness in his tone and I instantly go on guard.

"Right now, he's my friend. He's only ever been nice to me." I tell him and he give a grunt in response and turns back to his doodling but I press on. "He told me you two used to be friends." He stiffens at this and his eyes flicker back to me. They're cold and angry, this is obviously a sore subject.

"Oh yeah? What else did your new friend Reed tell you about me?" He snarls.

"He told me your dads were close and you two were friends as well until a few years ago. That you got into a fight and that was it." I say. Why am I bringing this up? We were getting along fine just now. Stupid Dahlia!

"That's it?" He asks and I don't dare say anything more. I won't tell him Reed warned me away from Axl, telling me he's dangerous. I don't want to fuel his anger. I just nod, saying no more. He clinched his jaw and looks away, shaking his head. Before anything else is said the class bell rings and Axl is up and out the door. I load my Biology book into my bag and head out of the room, when I reach the hall Axl's tall frame has already disappeared into the crowd of students. I shuffle myself into the flow and head toward English. When I arrive, Axl isn't in his seat across the room. I take my chair and think over the things we talked about, trying to figure out what exactly I said to piss him off.

The class bell rings and I look over to see his seat is still empty and it remains that way for the rest of class. 

- - - - -