Running for My Undead Life

Chapter 2: Untouchable Badass

*7 years earlier*

Walking through the halls of Oak Hills High School, I could still feel the lingering stares and fleeting whispers that followed my every move despite being a few months into the school year. "Look, Artemis is coming. I heard she got a black eye in a bar fight last night." "Really? I heard she jumped off a roof at a college party." At this claim I rolled my eyes. It's not like I hadn't drunkenly jumped off of a roof before, but I'm sure a black eye would be the least of my injuries. I continued trudging forward toward my locker, already wishing the day was over before it had even really started.

As I rifled through my locker trying to kill time, I heard a throat clear right next to me. I closed the locker to find my two best friends staring at me, one with amusement all over her face and the other with concern. Nikki, my best friend since grade school, wore the smirk. "Heard you jumped off a roof. Don't happen to have it on video, do you?" "Ha-ha Nik, you're hilarious. Keep it up and I won't be the only one with a black eye." "Oooh, no need to make threats Art. What really happened though?" asked Nikki. "I was working on my car and the wrench slipped out of my hands. Sorry to disappoint with a lame story," I responded. Nikki started to laugh but went silent as Jasmine and I glared towards her, although Jasmine's glare cracked a little at the silliness of my story. "It's not funny Nik, she could've been seriously hurt." "Sorry," Nikki replied, "most of your stories actually do involve alcohol or stupidity. Or both."

Finally, I lost my glare and cracked a cheeky grin at my two friends. They couldn't be more different from the other, but they both meant the world to me. Nikki and I met in first grade when I poured milk on her head for calling me an idiot. Granted, I was being an idiot, but I was always taught that no one messes with a Monticello. After I poured the milk on her, she was so surprised that she laughed hard enough to fall out of her seat. Since then we've been joined at the hip to the point where people confuse us as sisters. It doesn't help that we both have blonde hair and blue eyes, though mine are more grey while Nikki's are deep blue like the ocean.

We met Jasmine years later in middle school. We were halfway into seventh grade when she moved to our school and I fell in love for the first time. Jasmine happens to be the sweetest human in the world and she's gorgeous, of course, with her dark skin, lusciously curly hair, and milk chocolate eyes. We ended up dating for a few months, but called it quits when we realized our "love" was more friendly than anything else. Plus, I've always had trouble sticking with one person for too long. Maybe that's a genetic thing, but my family's history is a story for another time.

As I stood there listening to Jasmine and Nikki argue over something I couldn't care less about, my eyes wandered towards the entrance of the school. People were no longer looking at me and whispering but watching something, or someone, who was apparently just now entering. Suddenly, the bell rang, and people started to scramble towards first period. It wasn't until a hand was waving frantically in my face did I realize Jasmine had been calling my name. "It's time for first period, are you ready?" she asked. "I'll catch up with you guys later. I need to see something," I replied. For some reason, I couldn't shake the urge to walk towards the entrance and see what had drawn everyone's attention away from me. Nikki and Jasmine shared a look of confusion but turned and walked away without rebuttal. As I neared the doors it didn't take long for me to realize who everyone was gawking at. Standing next to Holly Smith, president of pretty much every club the school has to offer, was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. Her long, wavy brown hair curled around her face delicately. Her nose was straight as could be right down to the point. The small smile on her face as she listened to whatever undoubtedly boring thing Holly said revealed dimples, which happens to be my weakness.

Before I knew what was happening, I was standing right in front of Holly and the girl I now needed to know. Holly turned to me with suspicious eyes. "Can I help you?" she asked with disdain. "That depends, Holls," I started, "do you want to spend your Friday afternoon in detention with me?" "Of course not, what are you talking about?!" she half shrieked. "Ms. Chaney sent me to tell you to get to class immediately. She said if you aren't there in the next five minutes, you'll be spending time with her in detention after school today. I'll be there too, of course. Could be fun," I retorted with a wink. Holly turned pale and looked at the new girl with widened eyes. "I'm sorry! I have to go. I've never had detention before, and I can't let my record be tainted now!" With that, Holly started racing down the hall towards Ms. Chaney's classroom. I chuckled out loud as I watched her round the corner.