The Master of Rules
The face of the man was a knot of blood and torn flesh. "Please," he complained, the word that Kayden hated.
Slowly, Kayden unclenched his fist. "I promise I'll leave her alone," the boy stammered, cradling his bruised face.
"Get the fuck outta here," Kayden yelled. The man fled, leaving a trail of blood on the sidewalk.
Kayden's eyes fell on her, a low, possessive look. Aria was talking to her friends, a whirlpool of inscrutable expression on her face. He remained there until they left, then followed. He was prepared to climb onto his bike when his friends blocked his path.
"Where did you stay last night?" Nigel said.
"Will you just leave me alone if I don't want to say anything?" Kayden said, his voice flat.
"When will you ever be in the mood to speak to us?" Levi demanded, voice strained.
"I don't know," Kayden said, eyes elsewhere. "Maybe now. Or never."
He glanced at Levi. "I've been hurt too badly to trust anyone."
He did not wait for a response, simply purred his bike and left them behind. The stillness was heavy.
"He doesn't trust us," Levi said softly, as if he'd given it a blow.
"Don't even try to stand up for him," Vernon snarled. "It's the same, every time."
"We can't keep on doing this," Nigel growled, and a tired consensus settled over them.
Unspoken Agreements
The class rep read out the groups for the practical. The room buzzed with anticipation.
"The first group: Kayden, Mabel, and…" he did it on purpose, dramatic effect. "Aria."
Gasps hovered in the air. A lethal cocktail. Mabel shrieked with exhilaration, oblivious to the tempest she was unleashing upon herself.
"How are you going to handle this?" Nelly whispered to Aria.
"I'll handle her," replied Aria, her voice gentle menace.
The other names were called: Levi, Vernon, and Karen for the project that was coming up. Karen smiled, her literary universe colliding with her longstanding crush. Nigel, Nelly, and Berry were also grouped. Nelly grumbled.
Later, at the cafeteria, Kayden's friends tried to talk to him again.
"You're going to go without even talking to us?" Nigel pleaded.
"I'm not ready," replied Kayden.
"Just tell us this," Levi said, his voice almost a supplication. "Will there ever be a day that you tell us everything?"
Kayden looked at them, a small, unreadable expression on his face. "Yes," he said. "When I'm ready. Now, if you'll excuse me." He pushed between them, but Felix caught him.
"No more talking about breaking up, okay? Spooked the hell out of us."
"Crayon," Kayden said, but his own hand contributed to the stack. The moment they made contact, they all drew back, as if scorched.
A Life in Chains
In a stark, solitary structure, Emory pulled a scarf from her hair. Inside, there was a man on a bed, pale and gaunt.
"Emory," he whispered, eyes opening.
"You don't have the right to use my name, you motherfucker," she spat. "I heard you slit your wrist."
"I was exhausted," he replied, sobbing.
"It's not going to be erased from her in eleven years!" she screamed, her voice trembling with anger. "You weren't thinking? Do I need to list all the things you did?"
He shook his head, weeping. "Don't. I hate myself for it."
"Death is too good for you," she said to him, her voice dropping to an icy whisper. "I'll make sure you live until you get all the punishments you deserve." She stood and went out, her face hardened in icy rage.
The Unknowable
Meanwhile, back at the university, there was a fresh poem from "H" making the rounds.
TRUSTThey are my friends, but do I really accept them as one?I want to trust them, but repetition of history scares me.They are my friends, yet the only essential key to friendship is absent.Trust. But, I'm scared to provide them with that.Trust is such a heavy word!To trust someone is like giving your whole life.You're the one who's going to suffer when it's busted.
The boys read it, their own recent fight spoken in the words.
"This is… I have no words," Felix replied.
"It's about us, right?" Levi questioned, gazing at Kayden.
"Nah. It's wack," Kayden said, putting away his phone. "I don't get the hype."
"How can you say that?" Vernon questioned.
Kayden spat nothing back. He had been glancing at the photograph of the author, the one that had signed with "H". He looked over the room, his eyes focusing on the one person that he knew had been affected by it: Richard. A sneer crossed Kayden's face, and Richard's eyes widened in terror, the unspoken message passed between them.
The Breaking Point
The tension at last broke later in the day. Richard, fuming from that morning's meeting, spat at Kayden's car.
"What do you want?" Levi cut in, blocking his path.
"I don't need you, Kayden's puppet," Richard snarled.
Kayden stepped out of his car, and his presence immediately stilled the crowd that was gathering. "What is it? I have to run somewhere."
"What was the smirk you sent my way?" Richard asked irritably.
"Why are you so angry?" Kayden shot back, his smirk growing. "Did you do something wrong?"
Richard scowled with rage. He swung, landing a solid punch on Kayden's jaw.
The crowd gasped. Kayden's lips were already bleeding. He stood up, his face a terrifying mask of calm. "When your father and mother ask you what happened, tell them that I did this to you."
He pinned Richard's shirt and slammed his head into the car hood. Once. Twice. Richard's nose was cracked, bleeding, his eyes wide with horror. Kayden pushed him away, leaving him a splintered, unrecognizable thing.
Aria, holding her stomach in pain, staggered by just in time. Richard stumbled, bumping into her. Her eyes blazed at him, her face white with fury. Before she could move, a wave of pain doubled her over. She gripped her stomach, a momentary weakness in her eyes.
Kayden had seen that. He didn't hesitate. He took two swift steps, his eyes fixed on her. He didn't take Richard into consideration, or the crowd, or anything. He only took her into consideration. In one fluid motion, he was behind her, his arms wrapped tightly around her in a hard guard.
A general gasp rippled through the people. Kayden barely back-hugged Aria. The school's two largest emotionally walled-off people, and they just broke their own rules.