Alex spun around on the spot, his chinese ring dagger in hand. The cold blade of the black dagger pressed against the newcomer's neck, not enough to draw blood, but enough to prevent them from moving.
Despite his swift actions, Alex's eyes were wide with fear and his heart raced thrice as fast as usual, so fast that it seemed it would burst out of his chest at any instant.
Attempting to calm his shaking, he gazed at the thing in front of him. It was a man, hands held up in a way probably trying to show that he wasn't a threat - but the cold, expressionless look on his face only made Alex have the opposite impression.
The man opened his mouth to say something, but Alex beat him to it. "Who are you?" he demanded.
"Drop the knife." These were not the words that Alex had been expecting. The man seemed much more indifferent than a normal person would have when being faced with a dagger to the throat.
But with his former fear gone, Alex felt his confidence return. "It's actually a chinese ring dagger. And it's going in your neck if you don't tell me who you are."
The man grabbed the hand which held the dagger and pulled it from his neck. His lips parted, preparing to speak - until another blade connected with his cheek, breaking the skin. A trickle of blood oozed out from the cut.
Amusement filled the man's features, and, reluctantly, surprise. "Oh, come on. How many of these things do you have on you?"
"None of your business," Alex replied flatly.
"Fine, I'll answer your question, just step away," the man said.
Alex looked at the man, trying to find anything that suggested any intentions of the man attacking him but found none. Deciding that he'd stab the man if he made any sudden movement, Alex slowly took two steps back.
Th man's hand moved to his cheek and touched the blood. "You cut me," he remarked.
"Way to state the obvious," Alex muttered. He took out a white handkerchief from his pocket and used it to clean off the blood on his blade.
"Anyone ever told you you're rude?" the man asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Anyone ever told you it's not nice to sneak up on people?" Alex shot back. Secretly, he was appalled at himself. He wasn't usually this rude. Perhaps it was the nerves making him act this way.
The man rolled his eyes. "I didn't sneak up on you," he said. "I've been following you since you first set foot into the woods. There's a huge difference."
"Being stalked. What a nice way to end a birthday, and I'm lost. Daniel's so going to get it," Alex said, casting his eyes around but careful to not turn his back to the stranger.
"Your friend left the woods a few minutes ago," the man said pushing his hands into his jean's pockets. "I made him leave."
"What?" In utter shock, he cried, "You couldn't have made him leave - it's Daniel! You can't make that guy do anything!"
The man smirked, tilting his head. "Alex, do you believe in magic?"
Time stopped for a moment.
Then it moved on.
Alex stared at the still-nameless man before him. He was so close to bursting out laughing, but something was stopping him from doing so. The question seemed to be stuck on repeat in his head.
Do you believe in magic? Do you believe in magic? Do you believe in magic?
Alex opened his mouth to reply, to tell this man to fuck off, but something else came out of his mouth instead. "How do you know my name?"
"I just do. Now answer my question, do you believe in magic?"
"No," Alex said, a little angry. This guy had been stalking him, knew his name - probably his house too - and he did something to make Daniel leave the woods without him. Now he was asking if he believed in magic? "I don't believe in magic. Magic isn't real. There is no such thing as magic. Now stay out of my way and let me leave."
He began to stomp away and the man's eyes hardened.
He reached forward, grabbing Alex's right wrist and pulling him back, and Alex stumbled. Before Alex could react, his hand contacted the rough surface of a tree.
The tree lit up.
The leaves were bright and colourful, seemingly dancing in the dark night.
Alex gaped. He turned around to ask the man what had happened - but he was gone, and there was nothing but a trail of blue leaves left on the ground.
Alex took his hand off the tree, and the light slowly disappeared, the tree blending in with the fog once more. Without a second thought, Alex rushed down the trail, stumbling over the branches.
*********
Alex raced upstairs, taking the stairs two at a time. He ran down the hall of the third floor, passing the first door and the next before coming to a stop in front of his room. Pushing the white door open, Alex rushed in and slammed the door shut, locking it behind him and leaning his back on it
"Oh, thank goodness you're okay."
Alex looked up at the person in front of him. At that moment, he felt like he could pass out from relief upon seeing Daniel, but only a thankful sigh escaped his lips.
"What happened to you?" Daniel asked, looking at his friend's shaken state. He was confused. There were only a handful of things that could shake Alex to the bones, and right now, he looked shocked to the bones.
Alex moved away from the door, trying to act casual. "Me? Nothing. Nothing happened. Does it look like something happened? 'Cause nothing did," he said, struggling to take off his jacket quickly with trembling hands.
"You locked the door," Daniel said.
Alex let out a deep breath, willing his hands to stop shaking. "It's my room; I can lock the door if I wish to lock the door."
Daniel rolled his eyes, pointing at Alex's quivering hands. "Why are your hands shaking, then? What happened? Did you see anything?"
"N-no," Alex stuttered. He pushed his right hand into his hair, getting his fingers tangled up in the messy strands. He calmed down a bit and looked at Daniel, but he still couldn't meet his eyes. "Nothing happened, and I didn't see anything."
Damn it, Alex thought to himself. He couldn't believe he was lying right to his best friend's face and doing a rather poor job at it, as well.
But what else could he do? It's not like Daniel would believe him if he said he saw a tree with multi-coloured leaves and a man vanish from sight. It all sounded like a work of fiction, the kind of things that would only ever happen in movies and books.
Sighing, he looked back at his friend. "I'm fine, just freaked out about being in the woods alone."
Daniel seemed to believe that and suddenly felt very guilty. "I'm sorry, I-"
"It's okay," Alex cut in. He didn't want Daniel to feel sorry for leaving him the woods. Although it was his fault they went in the first place, he really couldn't blame him. Daniel had a curious personality and that was something that wasn't going to change anytime soon. "Just get some sleep, we have school tomorrow."
Daniel opened his mouth to argue but shut it back. He had done enough arguing for one night. He sighed and walked to the bed as Alex walked away to the balcony. "Goodnight," he called after him.
"Night," was Alex's reply, sparing him a glance before pushing the door open and slipping outside. It seemed Daniel had passed out on the bed already.
Outside, Alex leaned on the balcony railing and sighed. Looking down at his hands, he took in a deep breath and released it again.
"Pathetic."
Spinning round so fast he could have broken a few bones, Alex came face to face with the one thing he would do anything to get rid of.
A boy stood by the flowerpot, blue eyes twinkling with mischief in contrast to the black clothes he wore. His lips slowly curved into a tormenting smirk.
"Surprised?" the boy asked, walking closer till there were only a few feet between them.
Alex let out a shaky breath and turned back around to his former position. "Not in the slightest."
"Bummer," the boy said with fake disappointment. "I really wanted to surprise you."
Alex looked up at the large, round moon brightening up the sky with its little sparkling friends. "Go away."
"But I just got here," the boy said, joining Alex by the railing. He tried to touch the iron, but his delicate-looking fingers went right through it and the boy chuckled.
"You're not really here. You're not real," Alex said.
"Aw, come on, don't be mean. You're the one who brought me here," the boy pouted.
Alex turned to the boy and glared at him. "No. I didn't bring you here. I don't want you here. You tried to ruin my life."
"And you ruined mine!" the boy snapped, which shut Alex up. His eyes glowed blood red. "You ruined my life, Alex-fucking-Argent, and I'll get my revenge."
Alex snorted. "You can appear to me, Ryan, but that's all you'll ever be able to do. You're dead and there is nothing anyone can do about it. It wasn't my fault."
Ryan glared at Alex and vanished.
Alex sighed. He hated it, absolutely hated it when Ryan's surfaced in his mind. He hated seeing him everywhere, but what he hated the most was the fact that Ryan wouldn't have appeared if he hadn't been scared. What happened in the woods had really scared him, more than he wanted to admit. Looking back at the full moon, he couldn't shake off the feeling that it was smiling down at him, enjoying his unfortunate predicament. Sending a glare at the ball of light in the sky, Alex turned around and walked back into his room.
Guess who's having yet another sleepless night.
*********
The first ray of sunlight poured into the room through the glass door and the lights in the room automatically came up. Alex looked up from his laptop as the alarm clock began ringing.
On the bed, Daniel groaned and pulled the sheet over his head, his form seeming small under the heavy blanket.
Alex closed his laptop and got up from the chaise lounge, taking the laptop with him to the other side of the room. "Get up, Daniel, it's seven o'clock," he said as he passed the bed and walked to the reading desk.
Daniel murmured something inaudible, not moving from his position on the bed.
Turning to the bed, Alex pushed his right hand through his white hair, his mismatched eyes - the right a bright emerald green and the left a deep ocean blue - giving away the fact that he had not slept the night before. "I'm going to the bathroom now. You better be up and ready by the time I'm done or I'll drag you out by your nose even if you're in just your boxers," he said.
And with that, the blanket was dragged away, uncovering Daniel's face. His hair looked like a failed attempt at making a bird nest, and he had dried saliva running from the corner of his lip and disappearing down his jaw. "You won't," he said in a hoarse voice.
"Stay in bed, then," was Alex's reply as he walked away to the wardrobe.
Daniel grumbled and groaned as he dragged himself out of bed, cursing at whoever had created mornings all the way out of the room, even as he headed to his own room in the Argent house.
********
"Good morning," Alex greeted, grinning at the annoyed look on Daniel's face.
They were both dressed in the Druwood High winter uniform which, for boys, consisted of cream-coloured trousers, a white long-sleeved shirt, a striped yellow-and-brown tie and a brown blazer, and the cream-coloured pleated skirt for the girls, though it was up to them whether they wanted to wear trousers or a skirt. They were also given a free choice of footwear and accessories.
Daniel eyed Alex up and down. "You know that's not part of the uniform, right?"
Alex looked down. He was wearing almost-identical attire to Daniel. The only thing not identical was the fact that Alex was wearing a leather jacket.
"What? I prefer my jacket black and leather," Alex said, adjusting his bag straps.
Daniel rolled his eyes. They began descending the stairs, much to Daniel's discomfort. Daniel was panting as if he'd just finished a hundred-metre race by the time they got to the ground floor of the Argent House, having taken more than a few minutes to get there.
Alex shook his head in disapproval, walking to the kitchen with Daniel behind him who was barely keeping up.
"Hey boys," their mom, Melissa, greeted upon seeing them.
"Morning, Mom," Alex replied.
Daniel slumped down on one of the white chairs looking like he was done with life.
"What happened to him?" Melissa asked.
Alex picked up a red apple from the fancy glass bowl on the table. "Him?" he asked, eyeing Daniel. He took a juicy bite from his apple. "Just Daniel being Daniel."
Melissa nodded. She walked back to the boiling pot. "Well, breakfast is ready."
"Yes!" Daniel exclaimed, snapping out of his little fatigue episode.
Alex raised an eyebrow.
"What? Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, okay?"
He was rewarded with another eye-roll.
**********
They were getting more and more attention from the students as Alex pulled up in the parking lot in front of Druwood High.
"You just had to use this car, didn't you?" Daniel groaned. He looked outside through the tinted glass at the curious eyes of the students.
"Well, forgive me. This is the only car I own," Alex said as he took off his seat belt. He turned to the back and grabbed their bags, chucking Daniel's to him before picking the black shades from the roof compartment and putting them on. "And you didn't want to take the bus."
Daniel took off his seat belt and opened the door before turning back to Alex. "Taking the bus on the first day is hell. There are a few faces I'd rather not see so early in the morning."
Alex hummed softly, turning to open the door - but stopped in his tracks. His eyes widened as he gazed at the hand that lay on the door handle. A clear white mist covered it, snaking up his hand all the way up to his wrist.
A knock on the glass startled him, making him jump a bit and the white mist disappeared without a trace.
Alex held the hand with the other for a moment before shaking his head and opening the door. That didn't just happen. Must have been a trick of the light or maybe I'm seeing things 'cause I didn't sleep last night. Yeah, that has to be it.
"I thought you weren't going to get out of there," Daniel joked, noticing the far-off look on his friend's face.
"Yeah," Alex said absentmindedly. He shook his head, clearing out every unreasonable thought in there and shifting his gaze to stare at the school. It looked great on the outside.
"Why are they staring?" Alex asked, suddenly noticing the students who were staring not-so-discreetly
"Why are you asking? It's not like you're not used to it," Daniel said.
"Still doesn't mean I like getting stared at," Alex said loud enough for those who were close to hear. They immediately looked away.
"Speaking of people, let me give you a rundown of a list of people you shouldn't mess with," Daniel said as they made their way towards the building, leaving Alex's sleek silver car behind along with its admirers. "One, Mr Herry, the physics teacher. Don't get on that man's black book. I swear, he's this generation's devil."
Alex chuckled at that. "Great."
"Mm, then coach John. That guy doesn't know when he crosses the line," Daniel said.
"I remember you whining about how annoying he was," Alex said.
"I don't whine," Daniel snapped.
"Sure, sure."
They both pushed the big blue doors open and walked in, letting them close behind them and Alex took off his shades, his his now a deep shade of blue.
They were met with more whispers and stares, making Daniel uncomfortable but Alex on the other hand, took long purposive strides, not affected in the slightest by their stares. Daniel continued telling his friend about the people he should avoid getting involved with.
"Luke Wasserman, Ryan West and Brandon White," Daniel listed off, "those three are pretty much the most feared guys in this school. Luke will literally kill anyone who looks at him the wrong way, Jordan is captain of the lacrosse team and Brandon is captain of the swim team."
"Luke, Ryan and Brandon. Got it," Alex said.
"And then Kiana Perez, the sexy goddess. She's the student body president," Daniel sighed dreamily. He snapped his eyes towards his friend and gave him a playful glare. "Keep your eyes off her."
Alex looked around and his eyes fell on a gorgeous girl with strawberry blonde hair standing a corner talking with a few other girls. "Woah, she's hot," he said
Daniel's head turned in the direction Alex was looking at and his jaw dropped open and he elbowed Alex in the stomach. "I just said to keep your eyes off her!"
Alex groaned, rubbing the sore spot which was sure to leave a bruise. "Gee, I was just joking, okay?"
Daniel's jealousy vanished in a heartbeat. "Oh my gosh, Alex, are you okay?" he asked worriedly.
"I'm fine. Stop acting like I'm a breakable China doll," Alex said with a smile.
Daniel shot him a look Alex couldn't quite understand but he shook it off. "They both got to Daniel's locker."
"I'll see you in first period," Alex said before Daniel opened his locker.
"And where are you going?" Daniel asked.
Alex shrugged indifferently. How would he get out of this without telling Daniel the full story?
"To my locker then the principal's office."
Daniel opened his locker. He took off his bag and raised an eyebrow at Alex.
"Don't ask," Alex stated in a tone that signalled that the conversation was over.
Daniel unzipped his bag. "Well don't get yourself killed before the day actually begins. Burials are pretty expensive nowadays," he said with a grin.
Alex laughed, pushing his hair out of his face. "I think my family can afford it," he said and gave a small wave before walking away
**********
[Daniel POV:]
Biting his bottom lip, Daniel pushed his books into his locker, leaving only those he'd need for the first half of the day. A few students were whispering to themselves not so quietly about the new kid - undoubtedly meaning Alex. Daniel slammed his locker shut causing them to jump a bit, startled. Good.
He leaned against the cold metal and slowly slid down it till he was sat on the ground. The conversation he'd had secretly with his mom a few days ago replayed through his mind.
++++++
Melissa pulled Daniel by his right hand into an empty room on the first floor of the Argent House. "Mom, are you okay?" Daniel had asked when the anxious-looking woman let go of his hand and checked to make sure she had locked the door.
"Alex is turning sixteen," Melissa said, her back still turned to Daniel.
"Yeah, I know that. Although he might have forgotten though. You're still preparing dinner, right? Is it okay if you could make-"
"Daniel!" Melissa called, cutting the blue-eyed boy off. "Please listen carefully. Alex is turning sixteen in two days."
Daniel looked completely lost. "O-kay, I've lost you," he stated.
Melissa sighed, pushing her hand through her wavy hair. She looked at Daniel with that look. Daniel knew what that look meant. It meant she wanted to tell him something but didn't want to tell him and didn't know how to tell him if she finally decided to tell him. It was a look she had given him many times over the years.
"Mom, if you want to tell me something, go right ahead," Daniel said, "unless it isn't important."
Melissa sighed again. "It's important and I should have told you this a long time ago. I should have told Alex a long time ago."
Daniel was beginning to feel nervous. What was she talking about? What had she been hiding?
"This is about Alex, right?" he asked.
"Yes," Melissa replied.
"Is he in trouble?" was Daniel's next question.
"Depends," Melissa said "Depends on what happens after he turns sixteen. He might be the trouble."
At this point, Daniel was absolutely, completely, one hundred percent lost. "What?"
"Daniel, you have to promise me something," she said.
"What?" asked Daniel.
"Promise me that you won't, no matter what happens, you won't ever leave his side," Melissa said. "Promise me you'll protect him and won't leave him by himself."
Daniel stared at the woman in front of him. Say what now? "Since when have I ever left Alex by himself or not stayed by his side?" he asked, slightly annoyed that she had asked something like that when that was all he had always ever done for Alex. Always had, always will.
Melissa didn't seem very satisfied with that answer. She held out her pinkie finger. "Promise me."
Daniel looked at her in disbelief, but the grave look in his second mother's eyes told him she was serious. "I promise."
++++++
Daniel pushed his hands into his hair. He'd be lying if he said that conversation hadn't freaked him out. Protect Alex? What is that supposed to mean? Alex has taken martial art classes for ten years, so he can protect himself just fine! He's the one who taught me how to throw a damn punch, after all! And not to mention he walks around with a fucking dagger!
I don't see how I'm supposed to protect someone that doesn't need protecting to begin with. I wouldn't be surprised if he has a gun with him too.
Daniel got up from the ground, heading further into the school building in the direction of the library. No, he wasn't going there to read. Who goes to a library to read when there's the internet? It's the fucking 25th century! Get a life! Daniel needed to think and right now, the library was the quietest place for that. It was a good thing the librarian always came to school very early.
Protect him?
Daniel frowned. In all honesty, Alex had a very petite body, and with his long hair, anyone could mistake him for a girl. And then the fact that Alex got injured easily. Holding his hand too tight would leave a bruise in the shape of fingers.
Speaking of which, I should really find Alex and check out where I'd hit him. A bruise must have formed.
Daniel felt guilty for that. He should had known Alex had just been joking when he said Kiana was hot. And it was the truth but when Alex had said it, Daniel remembered feeling his head almost explode in anger and jealousy - but who could blame him? Alex had both the looks and the cash. He could get any girl or boy he wanted with just a smile.
With that thought in mind, Daniel had in that moment, forgotten he had the most loyal friend in the world. Alex would never go after someone he had his eyes on.
Protect him, huh?
Oh, Daniel was going to do it alright. Melissa didn't have to ask for him to want to do everything in his power to keep Alex safe 'cause Daniel knew Alex would do same for him.
I mean, if he hadn't practically crashed into my life like a wrecking ball, I probably would have killed myself a long time ago.
Pushing the blue library door open, Daniel let a smile form on his lips.
I just have to figure out what that idiot thinks he can hide from me. In the meantime, isn't that Kiana over there?
{Writter's Note}
Thanks guys, for reading this chapter. Think it has potential? Please leave a vote and comment to support this book
Have you ever have a strong urge to protect someone?
I know I haven't but I sure as hell have had an incredible, almost unavoidable urge to hunt someone down and hurt them badly.
Okay then,
bye..
10:20pm
Sat, April 23, 2022