Jaida kept glancing over at Arius as they walked. There was a disbelieving look upon her face as she watched the way he strolled down the street. He strutted as if he was better than all of them, as if everyone should make room as he came by. He was arrogant, proud, and incredibly smart. The principal had sent the test through their automated grader, and it had stated that Arius hadn't missed a single question. Not only that, but he had finished the test fairly quickly. The principal had announced that he didn't need to pay for his attendance. The plump man even gave him a uniform and said that he couldn't wait to see Arius in school on Monday.
Jaida returned her attention to the streets. It was starting to get dark again, and her mother would worry about her if she stayed out for much longer. At least she wasn't alone. Even if it did get dark, no one would even dare attack her if she stayed with Arius. He was rather intimidating, what with his scowl still present across his face.
"We're here," announced Jaida as she turned to face her house. Arius didn't ask any questions, nor did he make a single comment about its size. He only followed after her as she walked up to the door and opened it. "I'm home, mom," she called out as she took her shoes off and kicked them aside.
Arius glanced around the entryway, making sure to close the door behind him. He was rather fascinated really. After all, he had never seen a house quite like this. He had never seen a city this large before either. Human technology was interesting, and he realized that there was quite a bit he'd have to learn about. That or he could just pretend nothing interested him. That would probably be the safest way to go, but he knew he wouldn't be able to repress all of his questions.
"Hello Jaida," greeted her mother as she walked into the entryway. "I'm glad you're back. I was beginning to worry." Her eyes then fell on Arius, who was just standing there, glancing around. "Well Jaida, who's this?" she asked with a smile.
"His name's Arius," Jaida introduced, and he only nodded in response. Jaida's mother smiled brightly at both of them before Jaida took a step forward. "Actually mom, I need to talk to you about something. Arius, you wait here, okay?" She then took her mom's arm and pulled her into the living room. They both sat down on the couch, and Arius' mother gave her daughter a questioning look.
"What is it?" she asked, wanting to know what this was all about.
"Well," Jaida began, trying to find the right way to ask this. "You see…I have to ask you something. It's about Arius." She noticed that her mother was paying full attention to what she had to say, so she took in a deep breath, preparing to tell the biggest lie she had ever told. "Well, he…you see, his parents sent him here so he could go to school," she explained. "However, he can't find anywhere to stay, and they didn't give him enough money to stay in a nice apartment. So, I was wondering…if maybe he could stay here…in the guest room." Her mother crossed her arms, her expression showing that she really was thinking about this.
"I don't know," she began. "How do you know that's really why he's here?"
"I just do," she told her mother. "Look, he needs help. He's the boy I mentioned yesterday, the one Mr. Owens and I took to the hospital. Can he please stay here? Please mom?" She was really begging now, and her mother only sighed. Out of what, Jaida didn't know, but she smiled afterwards.
"Fine," she gave in. "For now, he can stay here, but if he causes us any trouble…"
"Thanks mom," said Jaida excitedly as she stood up. Her mother followed suit, shaking her head a bit.
"I swear," she began. "You and Mr. Owens are way too much alike, always helping strangers."
"He is a good teacher," Jaida joked as she ran out of the living room, finding Arius still standing in the entryway. She winked at him and then motioned for him to follow her up the stairs. He did so, not saying a word to her. They went down the hallway, and she stopped at one of the rooms.
"This is your room," she told him, motioning to the dark area before her. She flipped a light switch, revealing a very nicely kept room. The walls were a midnight blue color. In fact, everything about the room was dark. It seemed almost perfect for the way Arius was: dark and mysterious.
"I have a question," he began as he stepped into the room. This startled Jaida a bit, but she waited there for him to ask her. "That woman was your mother, right?"
"Yeah," Jaida responded, wondering what he was getting at.
"Well, don't you humans live in family units?" he asked. "Aren't you supposed to have both a mother and a father?" He watched as Jaida's bright eyes faded a bit, her smile switching from one of content to one that was forced.
"I suppose you're right," she answered, sounding insulted or maybe even hurt. "My parents are divorced, meaning my dad lives somewhere else."
"Why?" questioned Arius, probing her further even though he could see this wasn't one of her favorite topics. He was just too curious. He had never heard of this "divorced" concept.
"My mom and dad just didn't get along anymore," she explained. "So when I was seven, he left the city and moved away. I still see him though. On the longer school breaks, I go visit him, and I spend half the summer with him too." Arius watched as she fought back what appeared to be tears. "What about you?" she asked him. "What about your parents?" Arius just shrugged, giving a rather arrogant looking smirk.
"I don't have any," he told her. "Unlike you humans, we live alone. Family means nothing to me." With that said, he closed the door to his room, leaving Jaida standing outside. She sighed to herself and walked to her own room. Things were really starting to get complicated. It seemed that no matter how smart Arius was, there was still a lot he needed to learn. He knew basic knowledge, but human culture was anything but easy. She had a lot to teach him, and she was suddenly starting to dread school on Monday.
Jaida returned her attention to the streets. It was starting to get dark again, and her mother would worry about her if she stayed out for much longer. At least she wasn't alone. Even if it did get dark, no one would even dare attack her if she stayed with Arius. He was rather intimidating, what with his scowl still present across his face.
"We're here," announced Jaida as she turned to face her house. Arius didn't ask any questions, nor did he make a single comment about its size. He only followed after her as she walked up to the door and opened it. "I'm home, mom," she called out as she took her shoes off and kicked them aside.
Arius glanced around the entryway, making sure to close the door behind him. He was rather fascinated really. After all, he had never seen a house quite like this. He had never seen a city this large before either. Human technology was interesting, and he realized that there was quite a bit he'd have to learn about. That or he could just pretend nothing interested him. That would probably be the safest way to go, but he knew he wouldn't be able to repress all of his questions."Hello Jaida," greeted her mother as she walked into the entryway. "I'm glad you're back. I was beginning to worry." Her eyes then fell on Arius, who was just standing there, glancing around. "Well Jaida, who's this?" she asked with a smile."His name's Arius," Jaida introduced, and he only nodded in response. Jaida's mother smiled brightly at both of them before Jaida took a step forward. "Actually mom, I need
The weekend had gone by rather quickly, but that was probably because Jaida had spent most of her time out shopping. Currently, that was what she was doing on this Sunday afternoon. She had a lot of stuff to get Arius and she was using her own money, the allowance she had gotten from her mother. She needed to get Arius some "normal" clothes, as she put it, so he had been forced to go with her. It was no surprise that he picked out all black clothing. He obviously wasn't into variety or color.Everywhere they went, people stared at them for one reason or another. Jaida noticed that a lot of them were girls her own age. It was no surprise though. She had to admit that Arius was nice to look at. She would even say he was cute if he wasn't always scowling about something. In reality, he was one of the cutest boys she knew, but his attitude needed some serious work. He was by far the rudest person she had ever met. The more time she spent
"That's Mr. Owens, our English teacher," she explained. "Now let's get going. There's still a few more things we have to get, and I'm running out of money." The two of them left the building, now heading back out into the city to finish the errands. This didn't even compare to all of the things they had to do when they got home. There was a lot that Jaida needed to explain about school. She only hoped that Arius was as good at learning as he was scowling.A bell rang somewhere inside the huge building, but it echoed perfectly out into the front yard. There were kids standing around everywhere, all dressed in black and white. The girls all wore white shirts and black skirts while the boys were dressed completely in black. They all seemed to be talking amongst their friends, ignoring the other groups around them.Two people stood at the front gate. One wore a smile as bright as her green eyes, but
Arius' first day of school had been interesting to say the least. He had already decided that he didn't like history of government. Math, Science, and English were alright, but gym was his favorite. They were currently doing a unit on running, and he was honestly surprised at how fast some of them could run, Jaida included. She was the best one out of them.During lunch he had sat with Jaida, Amy, and Seth. Jaida and Amy had spent most of the time talking amongst each other while Seth shot Arius small glares from time to time. It's not like it bothered him much. No matter how hard they tried, humans weren't in any way threatening to him. He knew he could easily take all of them out, so no matter how much Seth glared, Arius just didn't care. He only arrogantly ignored him.Currently Arius and Jaida were leaving the English room, their last classroom of the day. However, school had already been out for an hour. Jaida had wanted to stay back in order to finish her homework before she got
He received no answer, so he brought his arm back and then threw the glowing ball towards Jaida. She watched in fear as it grew larger the closer it got to her. It was going to hit her, she knew it, but before it could reach her, Arius swiped his arm through it, breaking the ball of light apart. It eventually dissolved away, and Arius' arm seemed completely unharmed. The light hadn't hurt him at all. He shot a dark glare at the man before him, looking a bit threatening even to Lucius. The white winged boy only snarled in disgust."Pathetic," he sneered. "Protecting a worthless human. They all have to die anyway, so why not just let me kill her now?""Just shut up and get on with it," demanded Arius as he prepared himself for a fight. However, Lucius only smiled as his body began to fade. It slowly turned a white color, and before they knew it, he looked like nothing more than a figure
It had been one full week since Arius had began going to school, and Jaida had been studying his behavior the entire time. Oddly enough, he'd participate in class by answering questions he was asked or even ones he wasn't asked. She was sure he just wanted to show off, to show that he was smarter than all of them were. She also noticed, however, that he didn't talk much otherwise. He would only offer Amy short phrases, Seth a small glare, and anyone else a cold shoulder. However, strangely enough, he spoke quite often to Jaida. He was always asking her about something, and depending on what it was, she'd offer an answer.Right now, the two of them were leaving the school at the same time everyone else was. This was one of those rare Fridays where the teachers didn't give any homework. Every kid dreamed of those workless weekends, but as the two of them stepped out onto the lawn, Jaida was beginning to wish they had had a reason to stay after. No sooner had they reached the gate when a
The crowd that had gathered around the two boys kept murmuring, some making bets about who they thought would win. Needless to say that most were against Arius. After all, Jerrod had knocked out quite a few teeth in his life and had probably broken a few noses. The students he had something against often feared for their good health. Perhaps today, though, someone would be able to teach the brute a lesson."Come on," coaxed Jerrod as he readied himself for the fight. "Let's get started." To his surprise, Arius laughed."Why should I waste my time on you?" he asked Jerrod.Pathetic humans..."What are you implying?" asked Jerrod, his face turning red. He was getting angry, and talking to Arius was like putting fuel to the fire. The Deslyan would just keep pushing Jerrod until the boy exploded.
Jaida sighed a bit when she realized that he'd hate her for even thinking something like that. He despised the human race, or so he said. He didn't seem to mind them as much anymore, but some people did tend to get on his nerves. Her friend Seth happened to be one of them. She had noticed the glares they'd exchange, though the feeling was more or less one sided. Seth seemed to have something against Arius, and Jaida was wondering if perhaps her friend really was jealous. She couldn't blame him. Half the girls in the school had already decided that Arius was by far the cutest boy they had ever seen, and she couldn't help but admit that she was one of them. Unfortunately for her, she knew what he was like. His looks were one thing, but his personality was another."Jaida!" called out a familiar voice, stopping both her and Arius. They watched as Mr. Owens ran over to them, his briefcase in one hand and a bag in the other. By the time h