Bab 8: Chapter 8
He shrugged, crossed his arms, then he narrowed his gaze and moved closer. My mind chose that exact moment to realize how good he actually looked in his leather jacket, it had white fur on the collar and if fit him perfectly. Also....I was finding it difficult to draw in breath.
" No, I'm not happy at all, " were the first words he said. I nervously swallowed and tried not to study his eye turning features. But I failed and ended up doing just that.
" You failed, " he added in a low voice. I grit my teeth in irritation.
" You were just messing with me, weren't you? You're never planning on letting me be. "
" Correct. "
" Go to hell! "
" Only if you'll accompany me there, otherwise I'm fine right here. " His voice a low and enticing timber, deep yet smooth. I watched as he slowly lifted his hand and I realized that he was planning on touching me. I stumbled back as if he had punched me and after using my eyes to portray how truly pissed off I was, I turned around and left. He seemed to be having the time of his life and that only served to anger me more. But somehow, I wasn't surprised. He had always been like that. With me at least. He enjoyed to tease and carefully study your reaction, making you so mad that you wanted to scream but still managing to keep you wanting more of his company. But I was no longer a child and I did not by any means want his company. If only he'd get that through his fucking skull!
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Later that day, I was very calmly seated in class, waiting for the teacher to arrive when we heard some sort of commotion outside. I was curious but I also wasn't the type to go and investigate, most of the other students did. Then one of them walked back in and I heard him tell his friends what was up.
" It's that new kid!" he said, " He literally pushed Adam against the wall..I sense a fight coming!" After he said that they all rushed outside again. And I abruptly stood up and followed behind them. I couldn't help it, I had to see what was going on for myself. I wanted to know what he had gotten himself in.
The student had been right, it was just as he had said. Austin was holding Adam by the throat, looking the angriest I had ever seen him. Adam wasn't generally liked around school, I'm not saying he was a bully or anything, but he was somewhere in that category. One of those people who asserted their dominance by instilling fear.
" Let go of me you lunatic!" He struggled to say, it was hard seeing as Austin was literally restricting air from getting to his lungs. I immediately realized that it wasn't a joke, he wasn't just messing around. He was literally strangling him and everyone was idly watching like it was no big deal.
" Not so tough now, are you?" Austin asked, his tone naturally feral.
Adam reached for Austin's hands and tried to get him to let go. His eyes were tearing up and he was struggling to say something.
" Someone do something!" one of the girls from class said. She must have also seen the same thing I was, that the situation was not at all a joke.
" Where did your guts go, huh? You were acting so manly just now, " I heard Austin ask. Adam's face was turning pink. I couldn't just stand there and watch, doing so didn't sit well with me at all. The scene reminded me too much of something else.
I stepped in.
" Let him go Austin, "
He acted as if he hadn't heard me. Then I watched as the grip around Adam's neck tightened a fraction and I immediately reached for his hands in an attempt to get him to let go.
He turned to look at me, and in his eyes I saw anger. There was too much anger. It had taken over him completely, I almost couldn't even recognize him. And I once more wondered why he was acting that way.
" Let go, " I calmly told him, wrapping my hands around both his wrists and trying to retract them from Adam's neck.
He looked at me as if he couldn't understand what I was saying.
" Austin!"
Finally, he loosened his grip,but he didn't remove his hands completely. Then he glanced around and seemed to finally come back to his senses, he immediately let go of Adam and stepped back. Then he dug a hand through his hair and walked away from there. Adam placed his hands on his knees and struggled to steady his breathing. His chest was heaving drastically.
" I'll get you for this! Get that?" He shouted past his uneven intakes of air. But Austin had already disappeared from view. After a while, everyone started to head back to class as they talked about what had just happened. I was left standing there..... remembering.
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" Austin! That's enough, just let him go already!" My eleven year old self shouted. With terrified eyes I watched as Austin continuously used his small fists to punch the seventh grader that had pushed me to the floor. I had never seen Austin fight before, that was the first time and I hated knowing it was because of me. He'd definitely get into trouble, what if he got suspended?!
I tried to get him to stop, pulling him away because the crowd was sure to attract the teacher's attention. They were cheering him on.
" Get this crazy kid off me man!" the seventh grader shouted to his friend as he shielded his face from the non-stop punches. His friend just stood idly by, doing nothing. Austin seemed to have gone insane suddenly. I wrapped my arms around his waist and pulled him away with all the strength I possessed. He tried resisting, shouting that I should just let him go on.
" Calm down, you'll get into trouble, "
He tried surging for the boy again but I restrained him. Some kids from the crowd asked me to let him be so that the fight could go on. The seventh grader finally stood, he looked furious.
" You little bastard!" He shouted and tried to reach for Austin but another older student held him back.
" He's just a kid, let him be. Plus you started it so you'll both be in trouble!"
" No, let him come!" Austin began shouting and I placed my hand over his mouth to stop him from inviting more trouble. The seventh grader shook his head, then he angrily strode away. I held Austin by his upper arm and led him away as well, stopping once we got to the stairs outside and asking him to sit. That day's classes were done and we were waiting for his mom to come pick us up.
" Why'd you do that! What if he broke your teeth or something?!" I seriously scolded him, he still looked really angry. I placed my fingertips on his cheek and examined his face,glad when I realized he wasn't hurt. The other student had clearly been scared of hurting him since that wouldn't have ended well for him.
" He deserved it! "
I shook my head and sat next to him. Noting that we had left his backpack behind. He had dropped it before he unexpectedly pounced on the older kid.
" How long has he been bothering you?"
I kept my eyes fixed on the floor, not wanting to answer that. I was used to it by then. And I had been glad that Austin didn't know about it, but now he did.
" Stevens, how long?"
" It's just today okay? And maybe it was an accident. "
" I knew it! You're lying, "
He suddenly stood up and got down a couple of stairs such that we were in the same eye level.
" He's the one that beat you up last week, isn't he? And you lied that you fell. "
" Just let it be!"
" Oh I'll kill him this time!" Austin said before he ran up the stairs so fast I was unable to reach for and stop him. I followed behind him, wondering where he got that kind of courage from. And why he seemed so furious on that particular day.
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He didn't attend any of the classes remaining that day and I didn't see him around school at all. The news of what had happened earlier had already spread like wildfire and it was what almost everyone was talking about. Even Kira had heard about it and she was starting to re-evaluate her attraction to him.
" What if he got mad while we were together and suddenly strangled me? Like in that movie we watched, remember?" She was asking Max. He only nodded.
" I heard that you were the one who stopped him, " Max asked me and I shrugged it off.
" Maybe he's a psycho?" Kira asked and I suddenly felt defensive.
" He's not a psycho," I defended him and Kira looked at me all funny.
" Thought you didn't know him well?"
" I don't, but you guys know how Adam is. He probably brought it upon himself. "
" At least he finally found his match. But Kira's right, that dude is shady. Earlier he almost beat another guy up. " Max commented and Kira nodded vigorously.
" Yeah, I heard about that as well, the guy told him he looked like a dealer and Austin got so mad he was ready to pin him down. "
" I wouldn't be surprised if he IS a dealer, maybe it's the weed that has him so out of wack. "
" With a bike like that, I'd say he's more into the expensive shit like cocaine. "
" Will you two just drop it? You don't even know him, " Everything they were saying was making me extremely mad. They had no right to jump into so many conclusions. I realized that I was getting late and I still had to drop by home, so I told them I'd get going and we'd meet the following day.
" What's gotten into him?" I heard Kira ask while I was walking away. And in truth, I was asking myself the same thing. But I knew there had to be a reason why Austin was acting the way he was. And deep down I was dying to ask him what that reason was, but if I did that then I would be going against my goal to ignore him and pretend like he doesn't exist. I got home and quickly made myself a sandwich, then I filled my water bottle and left while eating. I couldn't eat the lunch at school since my mom hadn't paid for it. And she was still not back home yet, or maybe she was sleeping up in her room. I didn't have time to check so I left and headed straight for the record store.
While I was there I stopped trying to fight it, I was actually worried and I wasn't going to rest until I knew what was bothering him. So I took out my phone and texted him.
" Hi " was all I sent at first. Then I waited to see if he'd respond. Three minutes passed by and I concluded that he wouldn't, but then he did and my heart leaped.
" This is unexpected " I rolled my eyes after reading it, imagining his satisfied face when he sent that.
" Hey " he sent and I wondered what to say. I thought about it for a while. I'd start typing but then I'd decide against it and delete it.
" You good?"
I hit send, then I sucked in a breath. He replied not long after.
" I don't know, I'm a lot of things but I doubt good is one of them " I frowned, the answer sounded sincere. Something the Austin I had known would say, that Austin had always told me the truth.
" Stop ignoring me, I hate it "
I placed the phone down, I had no response to that. I didn't want him to think we could just go back to being friends. I didn't send anything else and neither did he. I did, however, save his number. Which was odd considering that I had planned on blocking him if he continued bothering me.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone