Titanium ••• Andy Strucker [Book 1]

eXtreme measures

*flashback*

One month earlier
"Andy where are you?" I muttered to myself as I ran through the halls of our high school. The sound of my combat boots hitting the hard linoleum floor echoed off the lockers. It was three thirty and the final bell had rang exactly fifteen minutes ago. Andy was supposed to meet me at the bike cage at three twenty.
I turned the corner to where his last class was when I heard his voice coming from the hall behind me.

"Guys do we have to do this now? I mean she's gonna know something's up," he attempted to reason with his bullies.
"Oh, you mean your little girlfriend."
"She's not my girlfriend."
I bolted in the direction of his voice, the group coming into view as the leader, Theo, pushed Andy to the ground. He scrambled up just to be punched in the face and knocked back down again.
"Get the hell away from him."
"Oh look who's here it's Andy's girlfriend."
"Go to hell Theo," I said shoving him out the way to get to Andy.
"You're a real asshole you know that?"
"Oh really," Theo snarled, grabbing my arm, hauling me up to meet his gaze.
I raised my eyebrows at him, "You sure you wanna try that?"
He let go of me and laughed. "He's all yours." He and his lackeys walked away hooting and hollering through the halls.

I knelt down beside Andy, "Are you okay?" I held his face in my hands examining the bruise forming on his pale cheek. "I should of come sooner," I scolded myself.
"No, Ivee there's no way you could have known."
"Yes I should have, if you're not where you're supposed to be it's cause of those guys. Every time."
"Can we just go? I want to go home."
I nodded and helped him up.
We rode double on his bike as usual.

"Ya know to day was actually a good day until it ended," Andy called over his shoulder as we neared the 7/ 11 near his house
"Yeah, how so?"
"Well," he began, bringing the bike to a stop. "In my art class we are starting a new assignment on spirit animals-"
"Oooh, so I get to finally see some of you're drawings," I said hopefully. Andy was always drawing and he never let me see any of them. Something about them not being ready even though he had seven art books full of drawings in his bedroom.

"No," he shook his head and climbed off the bike after me, leaning it against the wall.
"Why not," I whined, following him into the store.
"They're not-"
"Yeah I know they're not ready."
"Anyway back to more pressing matters," he held up two bags of lollies. "Starburst or Sour Patch Kids."

"Sour Patch Kids, duh." I walked around the aisles to the Slurpee machine. "Do you want all the flavours?"
"Yeah."

We bought our snacks and biked to the old park near my house. It was completely abandoned so we could hang out there and I could play around with my powers without getting caught because the only people here were junkies or overly drunk people on Friday nights.

"What are they doing here?" Andy mumbled when we got to the park, I peered over his shoulder, seeing Theo and his gang running around and yelling.
"Andy let's just go."
"God school isn't enough now they have to take over our spot,"
"Andy I swear to god if you get off this bike I will put you back on it myself."
He sighed and nodded, turning the bike around and pedalling in the direction of his house.
"One of these days I'm going to get them back and they are going to be sorry."

"Can you two go find Lauren for me," Caitlin said.
"Yeah sure," Andy said standing up holding out his hand. I took it and he pulled me up.