We get off the bus, and I wave to my siblings as they go off in their own direction. The guy I sat next to is still standing next to me, looking at how big our school is. Our school is bigger than any private school in the area, so of course, people take a second to look at it, seeing as it's a public school.
"My name is Jaden, by the way." I smile, and he sniffs, "I'm Evan." I bring him inside the school.
We walk towards the office, and I wait for him outside. Evan seems like a nice guy, I haven't had someone stay around me this long, so maybe I can make him my friend. Though he has an allergy problem, maybe I should ask him about it.
"Hey, I'm ready to go." I look at him, and he's once again sniffing and wiping his nose.
"What's up with you and your sniffling?" He sniffs again, "I'm allergic to birds, and being near them makes my nose run."
My wings start twitching, and I scratch the back of my neck, laughing at what he said, "Birds are pretty cool, you know! I feed some of the ospreys around, and they're very friendly." He nods and walks ahead of me.
"You scratch your neck a lot," I stiffen and laugh it off, "Yeah, and you sniff a lot!" He smiles and lets out a small laugh.
We continue making our way through the halls, chatting about birds. While I'm showing him the hub, where everyone chills and does their homework, I'm thrown to the ground. I twist to my side, so I don't crush my wings. I look up and see Johnny and his goons laughing at me. Johnny is someone I've known since elementary school. He's always treated me terribly, so this is nothing. Though it's embarrassing since Evan saw, and usually when someone sees me get pushed around, they all leave and avoid eye contact.
"Hey, what the hell is wrong with you? Don't fucking touch him, you bitch." Evan is standing in front of me, hands in his pockets, "New kid, you should back off. You can live a normal life if you stay away from this bird freak." Evan wipes his nose with his sleeve and doesn't say anything.
He looks Johnny up and down, scratching his head, "I'd rather hang out with a bird freak than a loser fuck boy like you." I can hear the smirk in Evan's words.
Johnny growls and throws a punch at him, but Evan catches it, "Jaden move out of the way." I roll to the right, and Evan throws Johnny on the ground next to me.
Evan holds his hand out, and I grab it. He pulls me up, and I get behind him. Johnny is holding his back and shoulder, groaning in pain. His goons rush to his side and ask if he's alright.
"If you touch Jaden again, I'll do a lot worse than bruise your shoulder." He motions for me to follow him, and I obey.
I look back at the guys on the ground, and Johnny looks me dead in the eyes and slides his finger across his throat. I shiver and stay close to Evan, who looks unbothered. He looks so calm and collected, hands in his pockets, "Thank you for helping me, but now he's going to kill both of us. I didn't want you to get involved because now you're a target to a lot of people." He shrugs his shoulders yawns.
"I could care less, and he deserved it anyway, am I right?" I smile and nod, "Let's go to our class, then."
~~~
I meet up with Evan, and he starts taking us to the cafeteria. I grab his sleeve, and he looks back at me, "What's wrong?" I shake my head, "I don't eat in there anymore. I eat outside, but if you want to go in there, we can meet up later if you want."
"What do you mean? Let's go eat outside then." I smile, and we turn around, walking towards the door that leads outside.
I take him to a secluded area covered with trees and bushes near the ocean and bring out the blanket I hid. I set it on the ground and sit down, smiling at Evan. He looks hesitant, but he sits down with me and looks out at the beach. There's a small breeze, and I watch him relax slowly, grabbing his food out. I smile at him and look into the sky, watching small birds circling and making their way down towards me. I don't think anything of it until I hear an osprey call; only one osprey I know makes a call like that. I see Guppy come diving down. Evan looks up and sees her gliding down and looks at me. I laugh nervously with my hands in the air, and Guppy lands in my hand. She lets out a happy sound, and I facepalm myself. I place her on my shoulder and look at Evan, who is very confused by the way.
I rescued Guppy when she was only a hatchling. She fell out of her nest that some stupid kids destroyed, and thankfully I saved her and another sibling of hers, Bailey, but the other one was already dead. I waited for their parents to show up nearby while holding them in my hands, keeping them warm. The parents didn't show up, so I assumed they were dead and took them both home. My mom was not very happy that I brought home two hatchlings, but I convinced her to keep them and release them when they could fly. My sister hated birds and stayed as far away from me at all times since I had them on me everywhere I went. When their feathers came in, and their eyes first opened, they already loved me. I think my osprey features finally helped me get closer to them.
He looks at me then Guppy, "Right, this is Guppy; she's very friendly and follows me everywhere." He still looks so shocked, "God, I'm so sorry, she usually doesn't come near me if there are people with me. She's shy and doesn't like anybody but me. I'm sorry, Evan." I bring my knees to my chest and sniff softly, holding in my tears. Guppy rubs her head on my head and chirps quietly. My wings twitch, and I feel weird; it feels like my wings are about to unshrink.
"Hey, wait, there's no need to cry, and I think she's pretty cool." He sneezes, and I look at him, "But I am allergic to birds." I let out a small laugh, and he laughs softly with me.
I move my legs, sit criss-cross, and hold my arm up for Guppy. She steps on my arm, and I move her to Evan, who holds his hand to her face. Guppy looks at Evan then me, almost asking if he's someone we trust. I smile at her and nod, motioning her to look at him. She turns back to Evan and rubs her head on his hand, purring softly when Evan pets her softly. She jumps off of me and into Evan's arms, cuddling into his chest. I smile at how open she is to a stranger that she has never seen before. I grab my sandwich out, watching the two bond so fast. Evan is eating his food, giving Guppy some of his bread from his sandwich.
"Hey, what's your next class?" Evan looks at me while still petting Guppy, "I have a free period, so I just stay out here with Guppy." He nods and takes his phone out of his pocket.
He shows me his phone, and it's a 12:50. He holds Guppy out for me, and I tweet for her, and she jumps on my shoulder. My wings are starting to hurt from being held in for hours. He grabs his back and places his sandwich in his mouth, "Are we meeting back here?" I laugh and nod.
He waves bye and walks out of the bushes. I wait for five excruciating minutes and finally let my wings out, and Guppy jumps off of me. Feathers fall behind me, and I sigh loudly, moving my wings so I can massage them. I watch Guppy come down and land on my wing. She looks at me; head tilted a little bit.
"You little shit, what was that bullshit you pulled? We don't even know each other, and you come out of nowhere." I move my wing, so she falls, "Guppy, he cannot know I have wings. Do you hear me? He would leave, and then you would be sad, so don't mess this up." She lands on the ground, and she chirps rudely.
I lie down and grab my phone, setting the alarm ten minutes before the next bell. I set my phone to the side and lie my head on my arms. Guppy cuddles next to me, and I smile, closing my eyes.