Chapter 2 - History Class with Kristen Ambrosine

Matt was dreading first lesson. Now he knew that he literally had all of Kristen’s classes except for one, he wasn’t going to escape from her easily. It was alright when it came to out-of-class times but in classrooms he wasn’t sure how he was going to cope. He would probably die if she was placed next to him in history.

Well, not literally, but her scent would be so overwhelming that he probably wouldn't be able to breathe properly without being suffocated. For the past year, he'd sat completely on his own in every single class he had. No one wanted to associate with him and that was completely fine. Now that Kristen had joined, he worried about whether she would ever catch on and leave him alone like everyone else. Would the rumours push her away?

He bloody hoped so.

Inside the deserted classroom where he now stood, he could see through the closed door as if it was glass. The corridors continued to be swamped with students rushing off in all directions.

All except one.

Kristen was in the middle, looking flustered and being pushed around like she was a ball in a game of pass. Her planner was now in her hands and she was scanning it furiously, trying to figure out where the history class was.

Now, like some people, Matt didn’t like helping new students. He continued to watch her get more and more anxious, rather than to help her out. He got some kind of sick enjoyment out of other people's problems. Of course, he was in no rush to get to class. He knew he would get there on time the way he always did.

Even if he didn't, he thought, the teachers never paid any attention to him anyway. They'd began to ignore him in interactive lessons due to the fact that Matt never participated with the activities. It suited Matt just fine. He didn't even need to listen in lesson anymore. The exams were just too easy to pass for him.

However, despite all of that, it wasn’t good to leave for class until the very last minute because late students would certainly see him whipping past them like a bullet to get there. He'd rather wait until the last possible moment to prevent being knocked into by stupid little kids running round near his feet...regardless of whether they were his age or not.

The corridors started to thin and Matt watched as Kristen became more flustered and walked from one side of the corridor to the other. Guilt was starting to hover over him but he forced it away. He didn’t want the trouble. She would find her way eventually. Some kind person would come over and help her, surely. He grabbed the handle just in case and slowly began to turn it. Though he didn't like the girl, he could help her this one time.

It clicked and still there was no one to help her. He sighed with annoyance and opened the door slightly to see her properly, her eyes starting to get tearful. He opened it more and watched as she scanned her timetable again quickly, looking for a clue that wasn’t there.

“Are you alright?”

Matt quickly smacked the door shut and held his breath as it made a loud noise. He saw Kristen look over but her attention was diverted by a midnight black haired girl with brown eyes like saucers. Matt recognised her instantly as Laura, one of the most popular girls in the school. He narrowed his eyes but continued to watch, confused at why Laura would suddenly decide to be nice to a new girl. So he could hear the conversation better, he turned off his iPod and tucked his jacket away into his bag.

“Hey, no Im lost.” Kristen sighed with relief and smiled at Laura gratefully.

Laura, being Laura, smirked back and shook her head as if she knew all about it. “Im Laura. What’s your name?”

“Kristen.” She nodded and glanced down the corridor as if a map would miraculously appear infront of her. “Do you know where the history class is? I got lost in the crowd and now I have no idea where I'm going.”

Laura smacked on a huge smile and pointed down the corridor with her pink and white manicured nails. “I have that too. Come on, I’ll show you.”

“Thank you so much.” Kristen breathed and beamed back as they began to walk down the corridor.

Matt stepped out of the door and watched them from a distance as they walked together towards the history block. He followed slowly, making sure they were in sight. He could hear them as clearly as if they were next to him but they didn’t know that. No normal person could hear them so clearly from the distance that he was stood apart from them. This was confirmed by the next topic. He knew it was going to pop up somewhere. Now she was going to realise what type of person he was to everyone else. He hoped that she was listening closely.

“Im ashamed that no one has helped you. Ususally everyone's really friendly. I guess it's just because it's the beginning of class and people hate being late. I don't mind though, if you need the help. I love your boots, by the way.” Laura grinned and indicated the ground.

Kristen glanced down, following Laura's fingers, and smiled. “Thanks. This boy was with me before but I must have lost him.” She breathed out and Matt saw her body slump slightly in irritation. He grinned nastily at her response.

“What was his name?” Laura’s eyes widened with interest and sparkled. Matt knew what she was thinking. Of course, those thoughts would fly out of the window as soon as she said…

“Matt.”

Laura’s smile turned into a tight line and she rolled her eyes as if to say, oh dear. She shook her head and puffed with annoyance. “Forget about him. He’s a nobody, a weirdo. You poor girl. You shouldn’t hang around with him. He's such bad news.”

Kristen frowned and glanced at her new friend. “Why? What’s wrong with him? He seemed fine to me, if only a little remote.”

Matt shook his head and shoved his hands in his pockets. Here we go. She was now going to realise why she shouldn’t hang around with him and then he could be left in peace so that everyone could continue to hate him and avoid him like he was used to.

He seemed to be the main subject in all conversations almost every day. He wondered why it didn’t get boring, talking about him all the time. He didn’t do anything different and they were mostly the same people everyday. He didn't even have any friends which they could get information out of. They knew nothing about him yet they seemed to have enough information to discuss him at any given opportunity. It was kind of irritating.

Laura shook her head and rolled her eyes as if Kristen didn’t know any better. She patted Kristen’s back like old pals and smiled. “Matt isn’t normal. He’s…strange. He’s a weirdo. He acts weird. He cuts himself off from the world and wont go near anyone. You must have noticed how rugged he is. He’s been in loads of fights but he always ends up on top. The teachers wont even go near him. He's a freak of nature.

"He’s strong and…just not human. Things just seem to go wrong wherever he goes. I would suggest never going near him again if you want a pleasant life. When he glares at you it looks as if he’s about to attack you and rip your heart out. We all think he’s some kind of criminal that’s hiding because he killed his own family.

“Last year he was just scary. He doesn’t have any friends and it’s a good thing too. When he gets angry, he gets angry. Mr. Jones went up to him last year after class because he hadn’t done his homework and, let me tell you, it wasn’t pretty. Matt said he had been going through a rough time and that he would do it for next lesson but Mr. Jones wasn’t having any of it. He told him off big time in front of everyone saying he was a bad example.

“Matt didn’t stand for that. He started to shake like he was having a fit and grabbed Mr. Jones by the collar then slammed him against the wall and made a really weird noise. Mr. Jones was terrified. He was chucked across the wall and was slammed into the cabinet…this one in fact.” Laura slid her fingers over the glass cabinet as she passed it. Matt could still see the dints where the teacher had mashed against it, breaking his arm. He made a silent chuckle to himself.

“Oh dear. Sounds horrible.” Kristen gasped and glanced back at the cabinet. Matt quickly slipped into a corner as she did this, just to make sure. Maybe this time he would be late for class, just this once, just so he could continue to hear their conversation about him. He’d never paid much attention to the conversations people had about him except a year ago when his whole life had gone upside down. He wondered if they had changed much since then.

Laura nodded. “He is a horrible boy and it’s best to stay away from him. It cost Mr. Jones a broken arm and now every teacher is scared of him. He gets away with everything and no one stands in his way. Trust me, Kristen, it’s a good thing you lost him. You don’t want to be hanging round with that kind of filth. You can trust me. I’ll show you all the right people to hang around with.” She grinned almost an evil smile and Matt curled his lip in disgust.

Though he didn’t want Kristen to hang around with him, she could do better than to hang around with that stuck up ‘popular’ witch. Laura wasn't exactly pleasant to everyone. Maybe it was because Kristen was pretty. Laura and her crew always loved to grab the pretty ones. However, it wasn't his decision and anything besides him was the best decision in his opinion. She would be liked by a fair few, he was sure. Kristen would have no trouble fitting in to the crowd.

“Thanks. Im so glad you came over to help.” Kristen smiled and turned the corner into the History department.

“Oh so am I.” Laura smirked and patted Kristen’s back slowly, drawing a soft circle with her fingers. Matt hissed under his breath and rolled his eyes. Trust Laura? She’d ditch her best mate for a boyfriend that wouldn't last more than two months! She’d ditch him for a sports car! Laura couldn’t be trusted at all. Oh well, Matt shook his head. It was Kristen’s choice to mix with whoever she wanted to mix with, so long as it wasn’t him. He wasn’t going to look over her like a little watch dog. She wasn't his concern.

Matt decided it was best if he got to class now. He shivered all the way down his body and scanned the corridors. Except for the one he was on now, there was no one else on the other corridor that led to the History department. He had to be quick though if he wanted to beat them to the class. His route would take 5 minutes if he walked a normal pace. However, it took him 20 seconds to run his speed, and that was only a slow run for him. He entered the class before he saw Laura and Kristen turn into the hall.

He took his spot at the back of the class in no time at all. No one noticed him as he came in. They all averted their eyes or continued talking, though he knew their minds would be secretly calculating his appearance. Despite his lack of involvement, Matt didn't like to miss a class. If he wasn't in class then he was thinking or training and he needed something to break his day up. Going to college was the easiest option to get through the day without going insane through boredom.

A few seconds later he saw Laura and Kristen come in, Kristen now slightly shy and slowing down so that Laura could take over the situation.

“Laura, you’re late.” Mr Franco said and raised his eyebrows as he continued to look down at the register and mark people in.

“Sorry, Sir. I found the new kid lost in one of the corridors and decided to help.” She gave him a beautiful wide smile and blinked several times at him, showing off her large eyes. Matt had seen the action thousands of times before and knew that it would work every single time. Laura got away with almost anything. Mr Franko blinked back when he looked up and then twisted his head to see Kristen glancing nervously around.

“Oh. Okay Laura. Sit down. What’s your name?” He asked as Laura skipped to her seat at the front and twinkled her nails at the boy next to her, who grinned back and licked his teeth. It was sickening to watch. Kristen stepped towards the teacher and stood nervously, biting her lip.

“Kristen. Kristen Ambrosine.” She answered quietly.

He nodded and Matt studied him. His dark hair and glasses reminded him of a scientist with a bad hair cut. She must have been thinking the same because her mouth twitched in the corners and her eyes washed over the top of his hair. Matt almost smiled at her reaction. At least she had similar thoughts to him in this sense. No one else seemed to think it.

Mr. Franco flipped his pen and scribbled down her name at the bottom of the register. Once done, he shuffled back in his chair then stood up, his hair overtaking Kristen’s height only. He scanned the class and spotted two separate seats that were empty. One was next to Matt and one was in front of him. Matt groaned under his breath and licked his lips. He wasn’t going to be able to do anything about where Mr Franco placed her. He just hoped that she wasn’t placed next to him. He could cope with her being in front. He could just shuffle back in his chair if she was being annoying.

“Take the one in front of Matt, Kristen.” He murmured to her, but of course Matt could hear. He sighed with relief as she dodged the other students and sat in front of him. Her hair flowed over the back of the chair but all he had to do was lean back and she was away from him. There was enough distance for him to be slightly comfortable whilst half paying attention to the teacher.

It was when she turned around to stare at him that she got him. She narrowed her eyes at him and breathed out heavily through her nose. He sat as far away as he could in his chair. The arms creaked with his weight and the back bent with his body but he ignored it. The chairs in the college were too flimsy to rely on to hold his weight. Raspberries swam around his face and he held his breath as her low heat radiated off of her.

“Why did you leave me?” She whispered accusingly.

She was much too close for him to relax, not that he relaxed much anyway. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up with the anger that pulsed through him. She could back off a little, not lean all over his desk and smother him with her smell like what she was doing now. She was just doing it to annoy him. His eyes narrowed and he shut his mouth closed, forcing himself not to snarl. “I told you it was better if we were not friends.”

“Is that better for me or better for you?” She raised an eyebrow and flicked her hair. He closed his eyes and stifled a choke as the air was taken away from him.

He struggled as he tried to hold his breath and talk at the same time. She waited for him to respond and finally he swallowed and blinked. “Can you move back a bit?”

“Why?” She widened her eyes as if embarrassed and shuffled back slightly, sniffing her hair.

He shook his head and ignored her question, taking in a small breath as the smell lessened slightly. “It’s better for both of us if we’re not friends.”

“I heard about Mr. Jones last year. If that’s what you mean then I don’t care. I’ll be careful. You wouldn't hurt me like him. He just got you angry and wouldn't hear you out.” She cocked her head to the side and awaited his response, her eyes scanning his face slowly.

“Why do you want to be friends so desperately?” He grumbled and glanced at the desk, breathing through his mouth. The air was warm and it coated him like a smothering blanket. Her hand still stayed on the desk, her nails drumming the edge. He wanted to shove them away but didn’t like the thought of touching her hand. Why did she have to touch everything?! Already the smell was lingering on the desk and paper that he had in front of him, not helping matters.

“I don’t.” She answered, surprised, “I just don’t understand why we cant.”

“Because. We just cant. Now drop it. I want to listen.” Matt rested his elbow on the table lightly and stared desperately at the front, wishing for her to turn back so that he could breathe and move to lean on the wall behind him.

She didn’t.

She stared at him and took in his features. His dark hair and bright blue icy coloured eyes that swam like bubble mixture, his perfectly shaped lips and thick neck which twitched as she stared. She looked him up and down then kept her gaze on his eyes. His pupils widened and he struggled to breathe again as her scent stung his eyes. She was a very pretty girl with dark hair, brown eyes and wonderful red lips. Her lips weren't even covered in lipstick. They'd been stained or dyed by something which made them naturally dark. Matt shook his head and sat back in his chair more.

“You don’t look strong, but I’m guessing you are.” She watched his hands and he tensed them automatically, his tendons reaching the surface. He curled his fingers into a fist and sucked in a breath, closing his eyes as the smell stung his nose.

“Yes I am. So what?”

She shrugged. “I didn’t realise you were until I heard the story.”

“Story or a rumour? People tend to exaggerate. I’m not the strongest.”

Actually that was a downright lie. Matt was undoubtedly the strongest in the whole school, including teachers and probably adults that even worked out at the gym. He didn’t look it but he was built like steel and he was so strong that he could lift a car with ease. He bent the chairs he sat on, for gods sake.

He was like a machine. A machine that could seriously damage someone, like students witnessed last year. He was only slightly out of control then. Imagine how bad he could be when he really lost it. Though, he was kind of young then, but still his strength hadn’t disappeared as he’d grown. In fact it had probably increased, considering the amount of time he took to perfect his body.

“Im not saying you are. You just don’t look as strong as what you actually are.” Her eyes moved from his hand to his arm and back down again.

He wanted to blush but didn’t, thank god. He frowned and shifted slightly in his seat. It was a good thing no one paid attention with anything that he did because otherwise Kristen would be getting a telling off for turning around and talking. Since it was Matt, no one wanted to get involved with that.

“How strong are you?”

He hesitated. “Not that strong.”

“How strong?”

He narrowed his eyes and glared at her. “Not that strong.”

“What’s the heaviest you’ve lifted?” She licked her lips and studied him. It was making him uncomfortable, the amount of questions she was asking about him. Did it matter? It wasn't any of her bloody business what happened to him in his life. He didn't understand why she was so curious about him. Why didn't she just get the hint and back off?

“I’ve lifted a car before.” He mumbled. It had been really easy as well.

“What…all of it?” Her eyes widened in shock and he surpressed a smirk at her reaction.

“Yes.” He studied her for her response. “Last week. My car got stuck down a hill and I lifted it onto the road again.”

“On your own? You picked it up and moved it on your own going up a hill? Last week?”

“Yes.” He muttered and glared at her. Wasn’t that what he’d just said?

“Oh my god.” She covered her mouth and stared at him. “Didn’t you hurt yourself?”

He shrugged and stretched slightly in his chair, causing the metal to bend with a small groan. “No.”

He opened his hand and scanned his skin on his palm. There was a scar that had nearly disappeared from the incident and he touched it with his thumb. She noticed it instantly and sat up straighter, looking at it. Her eyes met his for a moment and she searched his face carefully.

He didn’t notice his hand being touched until heat burned through his skin. He shot his eyes down to see her fingers tracing the scar. He was so shocked that he shot his hand away and moved back so much on the chair that it broke the back and crunched against the wall. He snapped up and stared at her, sat frozen in her chair. Everyone went silent in the class and they all turned to stare at him. He pushed his hands into his pockets and stormed out of the classroom, pushing a table or two to the side with his thigh without even noticing.

He didn’t look back.

Matt sighed and tried to calm down, breathing in a gust of clean air as he paused in the corridor. He relaxed his fingers and pressed against the wall with his head. It shouldn’t bother him as much as it did. All she’d done was touch his hand. It was because it was so unfamiliar to him. That was why he had flipped out. It wasn’t as if people weren’t used to him getting moody. It was just that it hadn’t happened in a while and he certainly hadn’t broken a chair yet (not one people had seen anyway.)

Being the wonderful teacher that he was, Mr Franco slowly slid out of the door and closed it softly behind him. It was a good thing Matt had been so controlled otherwise the door would have come off too and would have looked worse than the chair. He bowed his head and glanced at his feet before glaring through his eyelashes, causing Mr Franco to stop and widen his eyes, licking his lips and slightly trembling as a response.

“Now…M-Matt. What seems to be the…problem?” His lip quivered as he watched Matt purposefully widen his pupils.

“Nothing, sir.” He replied and rested his head on the wall.

“Well…It’s seems like something is…bothering you.” Mr Franco cleared his throat and twitched his fingers under his sleeves.

“I was surprised.”

Mr Franco opened his eyes wider and studied Matt through his glasses, taken aback by the conversation that was more than one worded answers. “What surprised you, Matt?”

Matt glared at him and Mr Franco caught his breath and stepped back wearily, unsure now whether Matt was going to turn. “Nothing.”

The teacher didn’t need to know all the details of his life, or even a little bit of detail from his life. It wasn’t as if he would understand what was happening to him, what he had to cope with every single day and night. Maybe he would understand if he was as strong and as powerful and he’d lost his whole family and had guilt smothering him and no one talked to him as a friend. Maybe he would have a little bit of an idea at what Matt had to go through every single day, the hurt, the pain, the secrecy of what he was, the blame that engulfed him every moment of his life. Maybe, just maybe, he would know what it was like for his whole world to be turned upside down and destroyed in little over a year.

Mr Franco realised that the conversation was over and didn’t bother to try and get him to talk. Matt kind of liked his history teacher because of that. Other teachers liked to probe to find out his business when it didn’t involve them and it annoyed him. At least with Mr Franco he didn’t mind if he didn’t know all the details, so long as there was peace in his classroom and he got his students the grades they deserved.

He sighed, now. “Do you want to come back into the classroom, Matt?”

Matt nodded once and rolled his eyes as he followed the teacher back in. Sir fixed his glasses and poofed his hair a little as he entered, while Matt dragged his feet inside and closed the door softly behind him, weary of the 30 pairs of eyes searching him and his teacher for any sign of a struggle.

When there was none, they whispered to each other and all of their smells hit him like a gust of wind. He caught his breath and looked up to scan the class, all of them silenced at once. He saw Laura flick her hair at him and tilt her head as if she was too good for him and he snorted silently. He wouldn’t go for her anyway. She was pretty but she had big faults and, really, seeing as she couldn’t keep a boyfriend for long, it told a lot about her.

His eyes drifted over the other students until they reached his seat. There was Kristen, her eyes still wide with embarrassment as she caught his eye and then dropped her gaze immediately. So she should; it was her fault it happened.

Remembering his chair had been destroyed, he flipped a spare chair that he had been standing next to into his hand. He’d have to be careful. This chair was as light as a feather and so it was easy to hold it by a finger and lift it over all of the heads that averted their eyes. He made it bounce over Kristen instead of holding it and it dropped and balanced exactly back on his fingertip. Still, it made her catch her breath and flinch which made him feel slightly better.

Matt sat down carefully onto his seat and felt it bend under him. Raspberries smothered him yet again but he held his breath and closed his eyes slightly. He hoped this time that she would leave him alone and let him concentrate on the lesson.

Luck was definitely not on his side today.

Kristen turned around straight away and stared at him with surprise. “What happened?”

He growled under his breath then closed his eyes a fraction too long for it to be called a blink. “You surprised me.”

“How? What did I do?”

He couldn’t help but widen his pupils, so wide that it covered all of his icy blue shade and his eyes narrowed. She noticed this and shuffled back slightly, a frightened feeling radiating off her. Good. Maybe this time it would make her back off. He was dangerous and seeing as she’d already surprised him, he wasn’t in a very happy mood. “You touched my hand.” He hissed and lowered his head to glare at her.

She licked her lips and suddenly she was nervous. “What’s wrong with that?”

“You don’t know anything about me.” He growled at her quietly. “Do you know what I could have done to you?”

“No. Enlighten me.” She said and raised her eyebrows, resting her elbow on his table. He sat back in his chair and his lip curled.

“This isn’t a laughing matter Kristen.”

“I know. You don’t want friends so you’re trying to scare me. Im not stupid, Matt. I know what you’re doing and it’s not going to work.” She smiled at him and his lip curled more. He had to control his temper and she wasn’t helping. Already he could feel his body shaking and that was definitely not a good sign in the middle of a classroom full of defenceless weak little people.

“I don’t have friends for a reason. I could do so much damage to you. Didn’t you realise anything when my chair was destroyed?” He leaned forward, ignoring the choking feeling he got when he could no longer taste the clean air. This time she didn’t move away and he hissed at her quietly so only she could hear it.

“I realised you were strong and you lose your temper quickly. So what? I can still be your friend and you cant do anything about it.”

The bell rang and Matt got up quickly, glaring at Kristen with such hatred he hadn’t felt since a year ago. She got up too and leaned closer to him. All of the students were leaving, yet they listened to their conversation carefully. “I can and I will. Don’t talk to me. Don’t follow me. Don’t do anything with me. It's for your own good. If you want to fit in, ignore me. If you want friends, stay away from me. Im telling you now, its best for you to hate me, so hang around with someone else and everything will be fine.”

“What if I want to. What if I don’t hate you?” She watched as Matt picked up his bag. He moved around his table and stared at her, almost nose to nose, her smell making him gag.

“Then you are either really stupid or you have a death wish.” He snarled and hurled himself out of the classroom, leaving Kristen confused and alone.

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Have you figured it out yet?

Also, if you're interested, Kristen's surname does have a relevance to the story so look it up if you want a clue :)

I hope youre enjoying the story! I have loads of work due for Uni so the updates may take a while this week! They've set me reading of 70 pages within 3 days which there's no way Im going to be able to complete unless I sit inside like a hermit :(

In the mean time, please comment your thoughts! Don't be silent!

Happy Reading !