Born of Blood

Chapter Two: Blending In

I walked into my homeroom at school the next day, and took a seat behind Braiden, ignoring everyone's stares. It worked out really well that that was the only seat left. It wouldn't make me look too desperate. He turned around and gave me one of his dazzling smiles, and I smiled back. He turned around to the front as the teacher began to call role. He didn't even seem to notice that there was a new student. Braiden turned back around towards me after the morning announcements.

"I see you found the school," he says.

"More like found the bus stop on the corner."

He chuckled and opened his mouth to say something else, but was cut off by what I assumed was one of his friends. He was tall with freckles all over and light brown hair.

"Braiden, you said you'd let me copy your math homewo-- Well, hello there. I don't believe we've met before. I'm Matt." he held out his hand and I shook it.

"I'm Ainsley," I replied in a small voice, "I just moved here yesterday."

"Well, Ainsley, it's good to have you here. Now Braiden, about that homework..."

I tuned out after that, studying my schedule. I didn't even notice that the bell had rang until Braiden shook my shoulder, signaling me that it was time to go.

The rest of the day was pretty boring, other than lunch, anyways. The only reason it was eventful was Braiden and Matt, I called him Matty to annoy him, kept cutting up. They started flinging lettuce at each other, and the ordeal ended with them secretly adding hot sauce to the other's tea. Just as Braiden took a large gulp, I spotted the boy from yesterday, Heath, sitting at a table alone. I decided to go over to him and find out exactly what his problem was yesterday.

I sat down at his table and he didn't even look at me. I cleared my throat, and he said, without looking from his book, "Can I help you?"

"Actually, you can. Why were you looking at me as though I was the oddest thing you've ever seen yesterday?" I asked, studying him closely. He had no visible flaws, which was hard for me to believe.

"I wasn't." he replied shortly.

"Yes, you were. And I'm not leaving until I find out why." I crossed my arms and leaned back, as though proving my point.

As if on cue, the bell rang, signaling that lunch was over. I groaned and shot him a look, as though I was saying, "This isn't over," and headed out to walk back to my apartment. Being a senior, I got to leave after lunch, since I had all of my core classes in the morning. As I walked through the parking lot, I heard my name being called behind me. It was Braiden offering to drive me home, and I kindly accepted his offer.

"So," he started, "how was your first day?"

"As good as a first day at a brand new school can be, I suppose." I replied, getting into the front seat of his 2007 black Ford Mustang. "Nice car," I added, before buckling my seat belt.

He smiled at me and pulled out from the lot. He reached over and turned the radio on, and the lyrics "you are the only one" blasted through the speakers. He turned the volume down and mumbled an apology.

We were silent for the rest of the ride. I was quite alright with it, though. It gave me a chance to study him. I could see a bit of a scar showing from his green v-neck. I couldn't see enough to determine where it came from, but I would have to remember to find out one day.

As we pulled up to my apartment--no clue how he remembered where it was-- he turned the music off. Before I got out, I realized that I should invite him up, maybe get some more details on him not included in the file.

"Thanks for driving me home. You wanna come up for a bit?" I smiled innocently at him, hoping he would say yes.

"I'd love to." he replied, turning the car off and getting out.

We walked up to my apartment, him humming a song I heard in his car. I fumbled for my keys, dropping them in the process. We both bent down to grab them, and our hands connected for a millisecond, but I had a strange feeling from it. My hand was tingling as though I had been shocked with something. I simply shook any ideas other than the probability of static electricity from my mind, and smiled up at him, taking the keys from his hand. There was that feeling again. What in the world could it mean? It couldn't be static twice in a row. It would have all been discharged the first time. I didn't like him, after knowing him for a day. Did I?