Chapter 5 - The Rebel

I was taken to the principal's office and dumped there.

A large man sat there, with dark glasses.

"Your father did notify us to keep an eye out for your assault, we just didn't know it would be this soon," he snapped at me, and I scoffed.

"They started it, Amber and the rest of her goons. They went overboard, taking my bag, which also contained my mother's keepsake, and if I don't get it back, I won't stop!" I hissed.

"We thought you would say that. Your father has been contacted to deal with you. You should know that here, Rya, we do things a certain way. Your father risked everything to bring you here, under a promise that you would behave yourself, and with your history, it took a lot of convincing. But it seems you aren't ready to be involved in society," he spat.

"As for my father, I doubt he cares about me, and I never asked to be here. They tried to bully me, they tried to…"

Suddenly the door opened and my father stepped in. I rolled my eyes as he walked in. He wore a blue shirt with dark jeans.

"Thank you, Principal Tee, I'll have a moment with my daughter now," he said, and the man sighed as he stood to his feet.

Just as he walked toward my father, he said, "He wouldn't be happy. Fix this, have her behave. If there is a next time, it will be out of my hands." The man gave me a glance as he walked out.

As soon as we were alone, my father stepped forward.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Maybe you should ask your daughter, she started it," I blurted out, and he sighed. I was expecting him to shout and yell about the deal we had, but he stayed silent instead.

"I'm sorry. She confessed to what happened, and she will face her punishment, but you broke one of the school rules, and I can't help you with that. You will have to face Principal Tee's punishment," he said in a calm tone, which surprised me.

"You aren't mad?" I asked.

"Don't be ridiculous, I admire your courage, even though you think I don't. You're still going through a state of grief, and I know I'm still a stranger to you, and you're in a strange place with a bunch of strangers. What Amber did was out of bounds, I understand, and I'm sorry. But you need to promise me you won't pick any fight in school. If something happens, you come over and report straight to me or Principal Tee," he said.

"I don't do reporting," I hissed at him.

"I know, but you have a father now and…"

"Do I? Let me make one thing clear, Mr Lyon, we had an arrangement. One year here, and then you settle me and let me go. I'm not here to bond with you or your family. As soon as I'm done here, I'm out, so quit the sympathy, I don't want it. You're not nice, so stop trying to be," I snapped. For a second I saw his face fall, but he nodded as he walked out.

Soon Principal Tee walked in, and just as I had expected, I was given a punishment. While all the students went home, I was asked to clean the ladies' toilet. As much as I hated it, I did it, and my bag was returned to me. It was already late at night, around eight pm, when I finished. I closed the doors, swinging my bag over my shoulder as I walked out.

It was already dark when I walked out of the school. I couldn't spot a soul in the school driveway or anywhere else. Fuck, I'm sure if Mum was here now she would say the same thing she always does.

"You're never going to change."

Just then I heard the sound of choking and I froze. Returning into the building, I looked toward what seemed like an empty alley.

My eyes widened when I saw it, or who stood there.

Zeke. The handsome playboy of today, who was the reason for my punishment, had been replaced by a beast. He dug his hands into a man who seemed older than him and pulled out his heart. The man's body crumpled to the ground as Zeke stood there and watched him. I stepped back, letting out a gasp as his face turned to mine.

Knowing he had seen me, I took a step back, then turned and tried to open the door, which seemed stuck.

I kept on pulling, but the door still wouldn't budge.

"Aren't you supposed to be home by this time?" his voice resonated behind me. I turned to face him, searching for a weapon I could get my hands on, but I found none.

"Get the fuck away from me, you beast," I groaned, but he stalked closer. He and I had hardly exchanged words. Fuck, we barely spoke, though at school I could feel his eyes on me.

Maybe he would kill me for my rash words, a few hours earlier.

"Beast. I like that…" he hissed, and in a second he was in front of me. My heartbeat seemed out of place.

"Humans, such a fragile thing…" he said as he ran his hand along my cheek while staring at me. I closed my eyes. Never had I been afraid. No, I ain't one to fear, but this was out of bounds.

A pulse of electricity ran through my body as he ran his hand across my face.

"Fate does have surprises…" he whispered, more to himself than to me. The man was a monster, I had seen it myself. I had experienced it first hand.

"You can't kill me. Questions will be asked. My father will find out what happened to me. Everyone knows I was at the school till it was late," I hissed. It was a stupid idea. I doubted Lyon would care what happened to me. He and I had barely spoken since he brought me here. We were always arguing. He would probably be relieved to have me gone.

"Your father?" he chuckled. "Everyone here knows Lyon doesn't give a shit about you," he hissed as he leaned close to me, his hands on my shoulders. A current of electricity passed through me. What the fuck did this mean? Why did this guy have so much effect on me? Why did he affect me the way he did?

Just then my eyes caught sight of the camera secretly recording us, and I smirked. This was my shot, my chance.

Just like that, I remembered who the fuck I was, and I peeled myself off the wall, facing him. I wasn't going to cower like a dog or run and hide like anything else. I'd been through shit and worse, and it wasn't going to get any better. I'm sure Elon would laugh if he found out I died without a fight, and I wasn't going to go down without one.

"Confident, are we?" he spoke, his eyes glowing. He had blue eyes, and now they were gold, as if there was another entity in him staring back at me.

"I'll make you a deal. You let me go, and no one gets to know what you did or have done. This ends here," I said.

"You're in no position to negotiate…" he hissed, his face staring wide at me.

"Oh, I am…" I said as I peered at the camera. His eyes followed mine, and he froze as he took in the camera.

"If anything happens to me, the principal will check that camera in the morning. We were last seen together. Now, it wouldn't be hard to trace my disappearance. Kill me now, and the trail would not go cold," I hissed at him as his eyes came back to stare at me.

"Your father said you're far too smart for your age. I thought he was just kidding, but here you are…" he whispered.

"What do you say?" I whispered, my voice low.

"How about this…" he whispered as his hands touched my neck, running along it.

"What?" I asked him.

"Date me, be my girl, and I'll let you live," he said, and I chuckled. What the fuck was wrong with him?

"I'm the one with leverage," I hissed.

"That's where you're wrong, baby girl. I'm the one with the leverage. I can make the camera cease to exist. Do you think after what you witnessed I'll let you go?" he snapped.

"For a man like you, you seem far too desperate," I whispered, and he leaned closer to me, his body pressing into mine as the electric current sparked between us.

"You think I don't notice the way your body reacts when I'm near, the way your eyes found mine among hundreds of students in the cafeteria, the way you stare when you think I'm not looking?" he whispered, his voice laced with a hint of amusement. My heart skipped a beat.

As he leaned further into me…

I ain't going to lie, he was the first man who had my attention. He was right. I was somewhat attracted to him in a way I shouldn't be.

"So what, maybe I was staring at how ugly you are. Your hair reminds me of a mop. You aren't as attractive as you think you are," I hissed at him.

"You know that's a lie," he added.

"Are we going to forget I saw you shift into a monster and kill that man? You think I'll ever date you, a monster?" I whispered, yelled at him, but he pressed even closer, his breath fanning my ears.

"I may turn into a beast, but what about you? You're the one everyone called the runt of the litter. You're unwelcome in your home. You have no friends. No one talks to you, and they avoid you like a plague. But thinking about it, dating me, the hottest man, wouldn't that do you some good? I can change your stand in the pac… society, school, and what sort. I can make people see you the way you wouldn't have expected to be seen," he said, and my heart skipped a beat.

And I couldn't help but crave something I never knew existed.

Acceptance.

"I have never cared for people's validation, and I won't start now," I hissed, and he only smiled.

"That's where you're wrong. Think about it, you wouldn't need to be bullied or wash a toilet like you do now, or be called names. You will be the center of attention. Our love will be…"

"Fake love. You're the one asking me to fake-date you," I hissed at him, and he chuckled.

"What do you say?" he asked me, and I froze as I thought it over. Maybe he was right. Gosh, maybe I was thinking of Cece, and Amber, and the rest of the girls who bullied me. Because of him, if we ended up dating, the thing it would do to them… I smirked.

"You do know I'm going to be a villain if I accept this?" I asked him.

"Don't you love being the villain in a story, from what I heard…" he whispered, and I chuckled in response.

"Let's do it, I'll be your girl," I said.