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Chapter 1

Mason

When people talk about what initially attracts thelilance, they usually say so sweet Like pretty eyes or a nice sht pink, polished toes dangling froer sideof a car Her s to the beat of music I’m unable to hear And I really wish I could hear it To knohat sound flows through her ears and s, over her knees, and follow the path down her thighs I don’t think I’ve ever seen skin so saze sticks on her faded Beatles tee shirt for several seconds before I finally find her face Her eyes are closed, long dark lashes resting on her cheeks Her lips are shiny and I catchmy eyes away from her mouth, I flick them up to her hair, pooled around her like spilt silk Shades of pink, purple, blue, and green peek through the otherwise dark strands She has ear buds in, the cord stretching to the iPod clutched in her hands above her head as she lies across the bench seat I can see the red vinyl through the gages in her earlobes Everything about her is different Singular Special

She is the irl I have ever seen

I don’t use the word beautiful often It’s an overly used word that has begun to lose its inize this girl as just that Beautiful

I forcetoward the school, but I allow a quick look back as I step out of the parking lot Her feet are gone The car s closed

I’ next to a girl that fits into what I refer to as "the ory Tall, tan, blonde hair, nairls at this school probably own as well She looks like the perky cheerleader type--popular and well liked for her status I’ people It throws ether Their heads are turned toward each other, engaged in conversation

I wonder for a second what they’re discussing What topic could be irls? It bothersabout this?

Then the one girl, the blonde, stops abruptly, her attention sliding to a big guy in a letterman jacket Probably a football player Probably her boyfriend

Blondie shakes her head and glares at the jockstrap as if the sight of hihs and takes a step in her direction And soirl, the beautiful one, puts herself in between them All of a hundred pounds and she’s what stands in the way of this guy getting to the blonde

The jockstrap laughs again, but there’s no humor to it this time He’s pissed His face is red and his eyes narrow And now I’ in their direction I’m about twenty feet ahen the asshole puts his hand up and actually shoves the girl backwards What the fuck? But she doesn’t fall She was braced for it, which I find extre

I’m ten feet away now and I have absolutely no plan All I know is I am not about to just stand by and let this dickhead intimidate someone sain," the girl says "And stay away from Annie" My eyes flick to Blondie Sheup in this sht in the face He extends his e and I’ers on her skin bothers me, but it does A lot Her eyes, which I can now see are blue, slit into a lare Obviously it bothers her too I open o fuck hi up and kicks hiht in the balls

Priceless I throwto explode Jock-boy grunts, his face sorabs hiirl doesn’t ain, kicking hietherher foot into his sto a spray of saliva and blood across the blacktop

"I said not to touch ly cal to kick hiain I should let her I should stand back and enjoy the show But I don’t I step up behind her, wrapthe other direction I can feel her shaking with adrenaline or rage, so I let her go quickly But in the two seconds she was againstfruity that will drive me crazy until I can identify it I also decide I like the way her back felt pressed toin shock "I don’t think he’ll touch you again," I say, and I can’t help the sirl, but I feel soaze at her

And she does soer leaves her face and her lips turn up in a way that hasall over itself For a second, I feel like a complete idiot because I’ve lost all ability to speak The words tongue tied finally make sense and all I can do is stare at her rabs her hand and pulls her away before I have a chance to respond What was she thanking uy? For staring at her like she’s my favorite flavor of ice cream?

They make it about five feet before an older man in a suit, probably the principal, takes her by her upper ars her off in the direction of the school She doesn’t fight him, but after several steps she turns her head and looks back at jock-boy as his friends help hi fro up The girl’s lips for bitch," jock-boy spits And she winks She freaking winks at hi like some psycho Because what just happened, the entire situation, as crazy and violent as it as so frigging hot

I think, for the first time in my life, I’ across fro to him drone on and on about school policy and blah, blah, blah, bleck Really what I hear is this: "Christian Dumbshit Dunkin is a star athlete while you are a loser, freak with psychotic tendencies So therefore, even though he put his hands on you first, I will do nothing about it Oh, and you’re suspended for the rest of the week"