I finished my last gobble of my breakfast, grabbed a fistful of hair to tie up a ponytail, a curl escaping in the process. Ember was still snoring softly in the opposite bed, her lips parted. I slipped out of the room, not wanting to wake her from her deep slumber. Gathering my sketchbook and a plethora pens and brushes, I hugged them against my chest to prevent them from dropping, but a pencil lying in the hallway led me to my tragic downfall. My body slammed against the floor, the pens and brushes slipping between my fingers and clattered onto the floor, scattering everywhere. I groaned at the dull throbbing in my ankle, an ugly bruise forming. I slumped back onto the floor, my ankle seeming to have been locked in place. Splendid job, Raelyn, for not even knowing how to walk without tripping over something.

I laid on the floor, knowing that I might have to wait for an eternity until someone drags my body to hide it in the woods. I knew that Dommie would have said: Luckily your sense of humor was still intact. 

Dommie. I sure as hell shouldn't have thought of a dead crush, I thought as a tremor passed through me. The pale distorted face of him, hanging limp and dead on the bed, bloody and beaten.. 

"Hey! You okay?" A boy's voice said. I grunted in pain, not trusting myself to speak, or whimpers would come out.

"Woah, woah, twisted ankle?" He touched the tender area. My body jerked in pain, as I glared at him in agony. He withered at my gaze. Be proud, Mom.

"Can..you walk?" he asked.

"Yes," I managed to choke out, but he looked skeptical.

"So you can speak after all." he said, but not unkindly.

I stumbled upwards , the pain sparking in my ankles, and my hands flew to his shoulders, fighting for balance.

"Careful," he said, and he shot out an arm to steady me. We managed to get to the health centre in ten minutes, me hobbling and staggering.

The office lady ushered as in.

"Oh dear, are you okay?" she said with concern.

Did I look as ghastly as I thought ? The boy looked sympathetically at me.

"Lynch, can you help me grab an ice pack?" she asked, fumbling at my feet.

Oh, so his name is Lynch. The lady propped me against a pillow and pressed the pack gently against the twisted area. I grimaced.

"A few days of rest would be okay," she said at last, casting a look at Lynch, who was awkwardly staring at his feet, she added," You two rest for a while,"

I smiled at her as she exited the room.

"So.. Raelyn," Lynch said, "what subjects are you studying?"

"Art and Literature,"

"So an artsy and sophisticated girl," he remarked.

"Puerile, enigmatic creep," I retorted.

"If I'm not a 'creep', you'd be all blue purple right now. And see? Sophisticated much. " He joked, brushing off my insult.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny." I said teasingly, rolling my eyes, but my words lost its sting. He seemed nice enough.

"Do you have lessons right now?" I asked, hoping that I didn't interrupt his schedule.

"Yes, but I cant leave a drunk to fend for herself, can I,"

"I'm not a drunk!" I screeched, shoving him playfully.

"Who said I was talking about you ? You admitted it yourself," he said smirking.

"You're annoying," I groaned.

"Born to be. It's my life purpose. And of course, my job is to help distressed women,"

"Don't be sexist,"

"My service is also for men. It's in my genes,"

I couldn't help laugh at how ridiculous it sounded.

"My job is to shut you up, which is to say, if it's possible at all."

He chuckled, his body rumbling.

"You're one peculiar girl," he said.

"And you're one peculiar boy," I remarked. Lynch and Azriel both had smart mouths, but Lynch was far more easy going.

He threw up both hands in defeat, and I giggled.

He was watching me, amused, his eyes intent.

"You look way better when you don't scowl y'know,"

"I'll take that as a compliment, though I look good in all occasions."

It was his turn to burst into fits of giggles.

"Be manly," I nudged him.

"I am..very...manly hahahaha," he laughed.

"It's not funny," I scolded him.

"Okay, okay, sorry," he said, out of breath after laughing.

I moved my leg gingerly, trying to hide my wince, but Lynch caught it.

"I'll tell her to give you an excuse letter,"

"No!" I said. Lynch seemed taken back at my sudden outburst.

"I just don't want to miss my first lesson, sorry for snapping,"

He gave me a look that said So you know how to apologise, huh?

I stuck out my tongue childishly.

"It's just one lesson, and you're injured. You need to rest," he reasoned. I reluctantly relented.

Lynch-1
Raelyn-0

His grinned triumphantly, and I clutched my heart in mock hurt.

The door burst open, a boy hauling a sobbing girl inside.

I looked at Lynch curiously, and saw that he was scowling deeply.

"That little piece of..." he growled.

The girl was screaming and kicking, while the blue eyed boy looked merely bored as he pushed her to the lady, who looked aghast.

"Don't leave me, don't leave me!" the girl's voice was hoarse from screaming, her voice cracking. Her eyes were red and puffy, and when she caught hold of blue eyes' arm in desperation, he snatched his hand away.

He glanced at Lynch, then his eyes flicked to me, lingering. Lynch snarled, and the boy stalked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Wh-what?" I stammered, momentarily lost for words.

Lynch's face was grim:

"He...uses girls.." Lynch said, seeming to be choosing each word carefully, "then discards them,"

"Like..Azriel?"

Lynch's face further hardened, "You know him?"

"I know who he is, I saw him in my dorm, with Ember,"

"We are not on the best of terms," he said, the hard line of his mouth tightening, "They, Azriel and the guy just now, Seth, are.."

The events clicked, and I realized. Seth is a player like Azriel. The cruel, heartless people who takes things that girls treasure. Rage uncurled at my stomach.

"Just...be careful around them," he said, his features softening.

"Noted," I said, my mind still whirling at the turn of events.