Preydator

So, as I was going through all the old stories I used to write, I found this one. I was 14 at the time. Its probably only a step or two above My Immortal. Enjoy.





There are two kinds of beings in the world. Prey. And predator.  I was once the former. Not too long ago either. But things change. Events happen that alter the course of everything. Ones that mess with the very fabric of nature. And as far as life changing events go, I win. Nothing beats my story. The story of some normal kid who’s life was as prey ended.
I remember the day that started it all. Mondays never are any good are they? I would say that I knew that Monday wasn’t a normal day. I would, but I can’t. Because honestly, I had no idea what that day would lead to. As usual, my sadistic CD player/alarm clock went off at 6:30. As usual, I hit the snooze button. I got dressed, tamed my unruly mop of hair, and ate breakfast, as usual.
At school was when things strayed from their normal course. Well, 4th period English to be exact. A new student had arrived (of course). Her name was Raine. And she was beautiful. Her long black hair was a wild mess of silk cascading down her shoulders and pooling on her desk like a waterfall in some forgotten exotic forest. Her eyes, a fierce amber in a snow white face. There was something else about her, an aura of sorts. Alluring, yet dangerous at the same time. I’d never seen anyone so appealing in my life.
I wasn’t the only one who noticed her, all the boys, and unsurprisingly, some of the girls had also found her just as interesting. The entire room was staring. As I took a step into the class, her head whipped around and I felt the full force of her eyes analyzing me. Watching every move I made and scrutinizing every inch of me. It was hot. I found my seat at the other end of the class and sat. Mrs. Dovae went on about Shakespeare or something we had covered a couple years ago. I lazily doodled on my note paper and kept glancing at the new girl, who had been identified as Raine by Andy, the boy who sits next to me.
She seemed so at ease in a new school. No nervousness, no timidity, just relaxation, as if she owned the school. I couldn’t look away. Dovae called on me and I barely heard it.
“Excuse me Miss Hayden,” she said, “I asked you a question.”
“Uh…what?”  The whole class was staring at me now. Except for one person. Raine, who was currently examining her nail beds with what appeared to be a smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth. Great, now she thinks I’m a loser.
“I asked how many Globe Theatres were made Miss Hayden.”
“Oh, three, including the modern one.”
“Thank you and if you’d care to pay more attention I could continue with our lesson”
“Sorry.” I said, red-faced and embarrassed.
The rest of class past uneventfully and luckily I was not subjected to any more humiliation. Every now and then I would venture a glance over at Raine and find her staring out the window, examining her finger nails, of just sitting there, doing nothing in particular. She still seemed more relaxed than anyone else. It was unnerving. As the period progressed, my glances became more frequent and from time to time I would feel her gaze upon me as well. The bell rang and I gladly got up from my chair and bolted out the room. I jumped down the stairs and headed to the corner of the quad where my friends sat. A big tree shaded the corner with its great branches.
“Hey guys” I said to my small group, “what’s up?” “Chillen.” Brendon, the oldest said, “Bitching about how evil Myrastaff is.” Myrastaff is his calculus teacher. He’s one of those old teachers who should have retired decades ago.
 “Yeah, he should just die already.” Agreed Kara, our resident goth girl, “he pretty much called me a whore. Dick.”
“That’s gay.” I said.
“So, how was Dovae?” Kara asked me. “Meh. Same bitch as last week. But there was this new chick. Raine I think her name was.” I said, “She’s pretty hot and I –” A tap on my shoulder interrupted me. I turned around only to face, yep, you guessed it, Raine. “You talking about me?” She said with a sly smile.
“Yeah actually, I was.” I replied, feeling confident, “You got a problem with that?”
“Not at all, Miss Hayden. Though I do suggest that if you’re going to stare at someone for an entire class period, be at least a little subtle.” So much for confidence.
“I was that obvious?”
“Mhm. I don’t blame you, I’m used to it.”
“Yeah, I bet…” I mumbled.
“What was that?” She was sharp. “Oh nothing.” I said, “Anyway, what are you doing here?”
“You seemed interesting, I felt like investigating.”
“Well, maybe you’d like to investigate a little later too.” My confidence returned. “Maybe at the mall after school?” Brendon and Kara stared. Well, Kara glared. She’s had a crush on me since 8th grade. Jealous much?
“Well, aren’t you the daring little fearless one?”
Now they stared at her.
“Yes actually I am. You’re not exactly the scary type anyway.” Man, I was on a confidence roll.
“We’ll see about that.” And she walked away.
“Meet me at the back entrance after school,” she called out, “I’ll be waiting.”
“Wow.” Brendon and Kara both said at once.
“Yeah, I know.”
Kara spent the rest of the lunch period sulking. She’s too much of a friend to like like that. Brendon was stoked. He was more excited about it than me. He’s never been on a date. He’s too much of a nice guy for girls to like him. But he’s ok with it. He says it only gets him closer for when they realize how much of a “stud muffin” he is. His words of course. The rest of the day was boring. Apparently Raine was in my 6th period but she didn’t show up. She was just one giant enigmatic ball of mystery wasn’t she? The bell rang and I walked out of the class and headed to my locker. My cell phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Hurry up, I’m getting bored.” a sexy voice on the other line said.
“Who is this?”
“Raine, who else?” I laughed quietly.
“How did you get my number?”
“I have my ways.” Damn, that whole mysterious thing was hot.
“Whatever. I’ll be there in a few”
“I’ll be waiting.” Click.
I stared at the phone in shock. How did she get my number? Well, I’ll bug her about it later. I reached my locker and put in my combo. I took out a comb and went through my hair, making it sleek once again and shoved my bag in. no need to take it home, I finished all my work in my classes. I needed to tell my dad where I would be. He does not need to give birth to a cow on my account. So I texted him saying I was going to the mall and I would be home eventually. I made my way through the dense crowd at the front entrance and made my way to the less crowded back where I saw a familiar black-haired shape awaiting me, leaning on a Nissan Altima. Hybrid. I almost thought she was one of those environmentalist wierdos. How ironic.
“Took you long enough.” She remarked
“Blah blah blah.” I said, “I had to go to my locker.”
“Well, get in.” I did.
The drive to the mall was short. Just a couple miles away. The slightly awkward silence was strangely interesting. I couldn’t stop myself from glancing at her side every now and then. Her odd relaxed state had not changed since 4th period. She had amazing posture. Straight up, yet still relaxed.
“How do you do that?” I asked.
“Do what?” she looked at me quizzically
“The whole good posture but still relaxed deal. I haven’t seen you let up once.” She laughed. I made her laugh. Can you say ego boost?
“It just comes naturally I guess.”
The rest of the ride was quiet. She had GPS so I didn’t need to tell her directions. We got there and she asked me where I wanted to go.
“Well I need to stop by the bookstore if you don’t mind.”
“Yeah, sure.” She said, “I might pick up a few myself.”
So I lead her to the other side of the mall, towards the bookstore. We made idle talk on the way. I had lost my confidence again so I was back to being shy and slightly embarrassed. We got there, I picked out a few vampire books and she eyed my selection.
“What?” I asked her.
“So, you like vampire stories.” It wasn’t a question. Simply a statement.
“Yeah they’re interesting.”
“Why’s that?”
“Well, my life is so boring its fun to read about things happening to people that are beyond the stretches of reality.
“Beyond the stretches of reality? What makes you say that?”
“Undead creatures that survive off of the blood of the living? Come on now. You don’t seriously believe that, do you? As cool as it would be to know one, I can’t believe in them.”
“I never said I believed in vampires. I just wanted to know your point of view. I’ve met plenty of people who believe. I’ve met people who would do anything to be one.”
“Who would turn down immortality?”
“Eternity is a long time to be alone.”
I thought she sounded sad at the time. Looking back, it wasn’t melancholy. I still can’t find a word to place that feeling. Longing almost fits it, but it was darker than just longing. I shrugged it off at the time. She did have a point. Who would want to be alone forever? That was the first time I should have paid more attention. There were plenty more after that.
She picked up a few other books I didn’t recognize and we left.
“So, what do you want to do now?” I asked her
“See a movie?” crap,  I thought, I forgot this was like a date. In the next second, I proceeded to completely freak out in my mind about how I was going to a movie with a hot chick. Which was odd, seeing as I’ve been on plenty of other dates with girls and it’s rather well known that I’m gay. I had never stopped for a second to think if she was or not. She might think we were going out as just friends.
“Hellooo, anyone in there?” she said while waving a hand in front of my face.
“Yeah sorry, just lost in my world for a second.” I replied.
“So, movie or no?”
“Yeah, movies are cool.” I showed her the way to the movies on the west side of the mall. After my realization that she might not be into me, I kept further awer away from her, careful to not have any physical contact at all. We got to the movies, argued for a second on who would pay, I won. We chose a “romantic comedy.” This basically meant there would be some cute girl who falls for some guy she isn’t supposed to fall for and they ride off into the sunset together. We walked in and were told to head to theater four on the right.
“You want popcorn?” I asked her.
“No, I already ate.” I didn’t think at the time that I had been with her since school got out and we had eaten nothing.
“Okay, let’s go then”
The movie turned out to suck. Or maybe that’s just because I was spazzing out that I didn’t know if she was into me or not. Or into girls for that matter. I was so worried about sending the wrong message; I sat there stiff and unsmiling. She was her cool, laid back self of course. She laughed at the jokes and seemed to enjoy herself. Her laugh was amazing. She was so carefree. It was when we were coming out of the movies that I finally admitted that I actually liked her, not just that I thought she was hot. We had just come through the exit of the theater.
“Man, that was boring.” She said to me. I just looked at her.
“What happened to laughing so much?”
“I was laughing at how boring it was! I thought you would have liked it so I didn’t object!”
“Wow. You are the only person I know who would peg me as a romantic comedy type person.” She smiled again. God, I am learning to love that smile.
“Well I haven’t even known you for a whole day yet. Give me a break here.”
“Yeah I guess I could. I thought you would like it too so it’s even I suppose.” Then she looked at me funny.
“Did you just use ‘suppose’ in a sentence with no sarcasm at all?”
“Uh…yeah? I blame all the vampire books. Those vamps are so proper it rubs off on me.” She looked away with an odd expression on her face.
“Well, we should probably get you home huh?”
“Yeah, that should happen eventually. But then again those theatre chairs were pretty comfy. I wouldn’t mind sleeping in those for the night.” I said with ale, trying to regain our light mood again. She laughed.
“I don’t think your dad would be too happy with me”
“Sigh, yeah, I guess.” She laughed again.
“Okay, let’s get you home then.” We walked to her car, after getting lost and laughing at ourselves of course. I input my address into her GPS and we started on our way. She turned on the radio so we didn’t have to sit in awkward silence again. My favorite band came on and she laughed at me as a mouthed the words. I laughed at her when she started too. Every song that came on after we both sang along to like dorks. We pulled up to my house laughing. I got out and waved goodbye until the next day. I was still chuckling slightly as I walked through the door. That is, until my dad cleared his throat in his signature “you’re in trouble” way.
“Hello Miss Hayden. Glad to see you back.”
“Why is everyone calling me that today?”
“Why didn’t you tell me you were going out tonight?”
“I did Robert. Check your text messages.” He takes out his phone, looks at it, and drops his gaze. “Oh.” A smirk slowly made its way into my features.
“Mhm. Check your facts first dad. Helps a lot.” I pat him on the back as I stalked away, into my room. I flipped on some t.A.T.u, sat back on my bed, and relaxed. Things felt good. I had a hot new friend that I had feelings for. I would have to talk to Kara the next day. She was not going to be very happy with me and even less happy with Raine. Brendon was going to want to know everything. But that was okay because I had a hot friend who was going to rely on me to introduce her to people in a new school where she knew no one. Life was good. For the time being. I drifted off to sleep listening to music, still in my clothes.
I woke up and looked at the clock as I turned over. 6:43. I had just enough time to make myself look pretty and get myself to school. I got up, Changed my shirt and socks and went into the bathroom to tame the mane I call my hair. I ran a brush through my short light brown locks, brushed my teeth, deodorized myself, and I was out the door. My walk to school was relatively short. It was just under a mile, long enough to be boring without music but short enough to not be tiring. My ipod had helped me through a great many walks down this street, so I turned it on and cranked it up.
After maybe 15 or 20 minutes I arrived at school. After my side trip to my locker to grab my bag, I headed to my faithful corner of the quad where I hung out with my group. Brendon and Kara were already there. Kara was still pouty and Brendon was sitting reading Shakespeare like the nerd he was. I walked up and Kara only looked up at me and took out her notebook to draw. Brendon of course nearly pounced on me and wanted to hear every detail of my “date”
“It wasn’t a date!” I told him, “I don’t even know if she’s like that.”
“Well what did you guys do?”
“Got some books and saw a movie.”
“A movie?”
“Yeah.” He paused for a second.
“Hayden had a date! Hayden had a date!” he said in his sing-song voice. Kara got up and left. Brendon watched her go.
“It wasn’t a date! God, you suck.”
“What’s her problem?”
“Who? Kara?”
“Yeah.” I couldn’t believe he was serious.
“Are you kidding? Dude, she’s liked me since like forever. Are you blind or something?”
“What? Are you serious? Oh my god I had no idea!” I paused.
“I feel smart.”
“You are smart Miss Hayden” Raine interjected.
“When did you get here? And how would you know, you hardly know me at all!” I asked her. She showed up behind my shoulder out of nowhere.
“I got here about 30 seconds ago and I know you are because you weren’t paying attention in English but you still got the right answer.”
“Well everyone knows there were three Globe Theatres.”
“I didn’t!” piped in Brendon.
“Shut up you’re not helping.” Raine laughed. I already felt myself getting cocky.
“Anyway, shouldn’t we be getting to class soon?” Brendon said.
“Yeah probably. Raine, where’s your first class?”
“I don’t know, I got here late yesterday. My 4th period was my first class.”
“Oh, well let me see your schedule.” She handed it to me and I laughed as I saw it.
“What’s so funny?” Raine and Brendon asked at the same time.
“Well, you’ve got first and second period with me, third with Brendon and Kara, forth with me, fifth with Kara, and sixth with me again.”
“Kara? That’s the girl who doesn’t seem to like me right?” Brendon and I laughed.
“Yep, that’s her.”
“Why doesn’t she like me?”
“That’s what we were talking about when you walked up.” Brendon said.
“And the reason is…?”
“She’s got a crush on me and you’re hot and we hung out yesterday.” She laughed again
“You think I’m hot?” As if she hasn’t heard it before.
“Pshyeah,” Brendon scoffed.
“How are you not?” I said
“I don’t know, I guess I’m just not used to compliments”
“I bet Hayds could fix that” Brendon said with a smirk. I punched him.
“I just compliment a lot. It gets me in trouble sometimes. Take Kara for instance. I used to tell her how good she looked and now she’s got a big crush on me.”
“I see. That sucks.”
“Yeah Kara isn’t the only one who’s got a crush on Hayds. All the chicks love her!”
“Yeah, I’m pretty much a pimp.” She laughed again.
“So, you making any of those chicks lucky?”
“Huh?”
“She means are you dating anyone Hayden.” Brendon said. Smart ass.
“Oh.” I said, “Nope. This girl is single.”
“No one interesting enough?”
“Nah, I’ve got my eye on someone.”
“So you’re gay or bi?”
“Labels are for soup cans.”
“Hey guys, that was the bell,” Brendon said, “we gotta go.”
“Aight, see ya Brendon” I told him.
“Later.” He said.
“So, my first class is with you?” Raine asked me.
“Yep. Algebra two. Loads of fun. Not.”
We walked to class together and she was seated at the other side of the room. I couldn’t stop myself from glancing over every once in a while. I couldn’t wait till after class so I could talk to her again. I was getting hooked on her presence. I felt like a junkie, jonesing for my next fix. She was my cocaine. I hadn’t known her for 24 hours yet and I was already starting to become addicted.  That was my downfall. I still didn’t know if she was into me or not but that hadn’t stopped me. She was my meth. My heroin.
Second period was pretty much the same. She was on the other side of the room and I spent almost the entire period watching her. She didn’t take notes but she wasn’t not paying attention. It was odd. She wasn’t listening very well but well enough that when she was called on, she had the answer in a second. But she never really looked up at the board. She still had her odd relaxation. Like she was stoned but she was too aware and not all droopy.  The class got out and we went to snack. Kara didn’t meet up with us, she was probably still upset. It kind of made me mad that just because I hung out with someone who wasn’t her, she would get to jealous and spazzy about it.
Snack was spent making jokes and complaining about our teachers and the ridiculous amount of homework we got. Raine dropped the subject of my sexuality and I assumed that she was freaked out a little bit by it. I was afraid to bring it up because it might lead to hers and I didn’t want to know is she wasn’t into girls. I could deal with not knowing at all but knowing she wasn’t into chicks would have been too much. Imagine if your heroin rejected you? Like, if the dealer said “no, I don’t work with girls” how much would that suck?
Third period sucked. Everyone seemed so lazy compared to Raine’s relaxed posture. Everyone was boring and I couldn’t pay attention to save my life. The clock seemed to see my agony and slowed itself down; twice I could have sworn it was running backwards. I eventually fell asleep trying to make the hour go by faster. It was ridiculous. All this over a girl I had met yesterday. What was wrong with me? Forth period came by and I breathed a sigh of relief to see Raine sitting in the same seat as the day before. I walked up behind her and looked over her shoulder at what she was drawing. It was a rose. But there was a dark quality about it. It seemed dangerous. But beautiful at the same time. She turned around and caught me.
“Hey there stranger” she said.
“Hi, sorry I was curious.”
“Oh it’s no problem,” she said, “I’m used to it.”
“You never told me you could draw.”
“You never asked”
“Good point.”
“Excuse me, Miss Hayden,” Mrs. Dovae interrupted, “I’d hate to interfere with your social life but I have a class to teach.”
“Sorry.” I said, “bitch…” I mumbled under my breath. Everyone around me exploded into laughter. Dovae turned around and looked at me suspiciously. Now the entire class laughed, starting with Raine.
“That’s it. If everyone thinks Miss Hayden is so funny, you all get to stay after school to spend five more minutes with her.” Dovae said angrily. Someone’s PMSing…
The entire class broke out in groans and as soon as she turned her head, a kid threw a crumpled piece of paper at my head. Sometime during the period, the boy behind me threw a paper airplane when Dovae’s head was turned and when she saw it out of the corner of her eye, everyone blamed me. She lengthened our stay to 10 minutes. Once again, more groans. This time the papers were thrown at the kids around me. So, the bell finally rang and we had to sit there watching the clock for 10 minutes until she let us go. Raine was drawing again. By the time we got out of the classroom, the halls were close to empty. Raine followed me to my locker and I went to hers, which happened to be fairly close to mine.  We started to walk towards the exit of the school.
“So, you need a ride?” she asked me.
“Nah, I’m gonna walk.” I told her. I wasn’t quite keen on spending time alone with her in her car again, as fun as it was the last time. I wasn’t sure why but since after the bell rang, the usual sultry vibe she gave off, became scary and dangerous.
“You sure?”
“Yeah I’m cool.”
We walked through the parking lot and leaning on her car was a greasy looking boy with long, gross hair. He waved to her and she waved back. We reached the car and he put his arm around her waist. I looked between Raine and the boy who seemed to be her boyfriend.
“This is David,” she said, as if I cared.
“Hi David” I said coldly.
“David, this is Hayden, my friend.” He looked at me and nodded with a lazy smile on his face. Jerk.