Queen of the track

III

Chapter 3.

Gray

I thought things would start to get better during of my third week at Mountview High, but they didn't. The only good thing that's happened so far is that when I had a shower this morning, I noticed the giant bruise that ran along the side of my torso had faded considerably since moving here, and I can move and breathe with ease, not feeling any physical pain.

The bad things came pretty quickly after this, though. First of all, when I woke up this morning, my mom hadn't gotten home from her night-shift yet, which meant that not only I was alone in the house again, but she had worked a longer shift than she was supposed to.

Then, the hunk of metal that's supposed to be a car, kept stalling on my way to school, meaning I was almost late for first-period. So, when I was running through the halls to my locker after the warning bell sounded, I wasn't exactly expecting to collide into Mountview's top two people on the 'don't fuck with' list.

But I did, so now here I am, staring with wide eyes at probably the hottest and equally scariest looking girl that I've ever laid eyes on. Raven Mitchell. Her striking blue eyes harden at the sight of me, and my mouth seems to register what my brain is thinking, and speaks before I can stop myself.

"Shit."

Before I have a chance to apologise, or even breathe, the guy standing behind Raven has me shoved against the lockers, one of the combination locks sticking into my back at an awkward angle. He balls up my shirt with his fists as he pushes against me with his entire weight.

My first thought during this: thank fuck my bruised ribs have healed, otherwise this would be a lot more painful.

My second thought: if this asshat doesn't let go of me in three seconds, I'm wiping the floor with him, and I don't care who's watching or what the consequences are.

"Watch where you're going, asshole." He growls lowly at me. My eyes narrow into slits, and just as my hands have balled into fists ready to strike, Raven steps in, grabbing onto his arm.

"AJ!" She snaps at him, surprisingly pulling him back with ease. "Back off."

Asshat AJ lets go of my shirt as he's pulled away, allowing me to stand up straight against the lockers. I breathe out heavily through my nose, slightly annoyed I didn't get to punch him.

"He ran into you," AJ gestures to me but looks down at her with questioning eyes. Looking at them both with their dark hair and crystal blue eyes, it's easy to spot that they're siblings—twins even.

"We literally just walked out of Myers' office." Raven tells him in what seems like a calm voice.

Something seems to click in AJ's mind because he stands taller with his eyes glaring me, but he makes no move towards me.

"If I wanted the kid on the floor, he'd already be there," She adds with a quirked eyebrow that almost makes me laugh. Seriously? She thinks she could put me on the floor? With those three-inch heeled boots placing a well aimed kick, maybe she could, but that's a weak maybe. "Walk away."

AJ and I both glare at each other for another moment before he retrieves his bag and makes down the hallway, not looking back.

"Show's over!" Raven yells, her commanding tone making everyone that had been lingering in the hall quickly scurry away. "Any broken bones?"

I quickly turn my head to her, shocked that even though I had just heard her voice, I had forgotten she was standing right beside me. Remembering she asked me a question, I shake my head at her.