Chapter 3

"Touche, D said with a grin, "You got me there." 

"I want to say thank you again for all the times you saved me."

"Now then," D continued, "do you want to head back inside and play a game or something? Anything you name, I will beat you on it!" 

"D, I’ll take that as a challenge! How about a writing contest?"

"What? Yuck! I hate writing." 

"Ha! I laughed. "I know I have seen your writing. This game is simple! All you have to do is see how small you can write. Additionally, you will still need to be able to see and read it! Also, I just got a new mechanical pencil and wanted to test it out.

"Okay, So... what do you want if you beat me?" D asked.

"Me?" I paused. "Hmm... How about your pencil? I like yours, and it's purple—my favorite color! And what do you want if I lose?"

"I don’t know; I will let it be a surprise."  D shrugged his shoulders with a smirk. 

"Okay, I'll pick the word. Let's write the word "guardian." 

"What? Why did you pick that word?" D questioned. 

"I don't know! It was the first thing that popped into my head, alright?!" I fired back with a smirk and a dramatic eye roll.

As we wrote, our letters got smaller and smaller. We compared our work each time to see who was winning. But barely after starting, D sighed and said, "You win," dropping his pencil in defeat.

A small part of me wanted to know what he would have wanted for his prize if he had won. Did he lose on purpose?

"Well then, that purple pencil is now mine," I laughed, mocking him. "Mwahaha!"

On the last day of summer school, we agreed to meet again once the school year started.

The rest of summer break flew by, and soon, the new school year arrived.

I barely made it through the first day when the same stocky kid who had bullied me last year started right back up—like he had been waiting all summer for this moment.

What was his deal? Was this the only thing he lived for, to taunt me?

Finally, after two hours of him following me to every class, I spun around and yelled, "What is the matter with you? Why do you always follow me everywhere and bully me? It’s a whole new year! Don’t you have anything better to do?"

What D had said was true! When backed into a corner, you will one day defend yourself if necessary.

"I wanted to ask you something because... I like you and think you’re cute."

"WHAT?" I stared at him in disbelief. "So you thought following me around was a good idea?"

"I knew you’d eventually say something to me, and that would give me a chance to talk to you."

"Is that so? What do you want?" I said, in frustration, 'What's with this guy?' I had already had enough of his bullying in the past; now, this? 

"What do you think about this? If you date me, I’ll stop following you around and be more... amicable."

I growled. "Is that what it’ll take to get you off my back?" I sighed. I guess it was better than being bullied, I thought to myself. "Yeah, sure, I’ll give it a shot."

"If you don’t like dating, I’ll leave you alone for good." "Let me reintroduce myself to you. Hello, my name is Brent!" 

"I had never dated before, so I have no idea what to do," I said.

What could it hurt? If things don't work out well—at least I could get this goon off my back. I could date him for a few days and then break up.

"Don’t worry," he said with a crooked smile. "I’ll show you what it’s like to date a man."

Something about him gave me the creeps. I didn’t trust what he was up to, but I figured a couple of days wouldn’t hurt. 

To my surprise, nothing changed much. He mostly ignored me. When we met up, he’d hold the door open for me, and once or twice, he even carried my books. It wasn’t as bad as I had feared.

But when he was with his friends, I’d hear him bragging. He also called me pet names I didn’t understand. One day, I asked my dad what one of those words meant. His face darkened. He told me no one should ever call me that—it was a way for men to show off that they "owned" a woman in slang terms. In the dictionary, it basically meant a female dog in heat.

That’s when I realized why Brent was dating me. It was all for show. He was trying to act cool in front of his friends, and since I was unfamiliar with certain words, he must have thought he could get away with it. I felt disgusted.

The next day, I stormed into school, determined to break up with him.  I don’t deserve to be treated with that disrespect.  I found him at the bleachers, surrounded by his friends as usual. Typical, I thought.

His right-hand man, Skylar, was laughing and smirking as I approached. He knew what was coming. Deep down, I had always felt like some pawn in a joke I never understood—until now, I got it.

Brent's behavior never impressed me; not a single spark of interest ever emerged during our entire dating period.

Looking out the window, a storm was forming over the school. The sky grew darker as the school was blanketed in thick clouds. Within seconds, thunder broke, and rain poured down, mixed with hail clinking off the tin roof. In the swirling clouds, I thought I saw dark spirits moving outside.

Was my mind playing tricks on me? Was this a warning? Maybe it was a sign I should have walked away, but I was too stubborn and furious. I ignored everything around me, focusing only on what I cared about, which was getting this over with. 

"Brent, it’s time for me to move on.  I know what’s been going on, and I don’t like it. Besides, you don’t seem interested in me anyway, and I don’t appreciate the names you’ve been calling me."

His smirk faded.

"I don’t care what it means," I continued. "As my dad says, no one owns me. We never clicked, and I’m breaking up with you. This is goodbye."  I ended the conversation on that note as I turned and walked away. 

As I walked away, I thought I was done wasting my time. I just wanted to make this quick and move on with my life without looking back.

Suddenly, he grabbed my shoulder and spun me around, shoving me into the door. 

"No one embarrasses me like that in front of my friends. And no one dumps me—I dump them!"  He growled, his eyes red and glowing.

A terrifying sense of déjà vu washed over me. Had this happened before?

Brent balled up his fist and drew it back. With tears welling in my eyes, I turned my head, shutting my eyes tightly, bracing for the impact. My body was frozen in fear as I was trapped in a corner.

WHAM!

It was D. He had appeared out of nowhere. With a single knockout punch, he sent Brent flying through the air. Brent landed outside—breathless.  He was passed out, sprawled in a rain puddle on the ground. 

Lightning flashed, illuminating everything in a blinding white light.

I turned to look at D. His familiar olive-green eyes had darkened to pitch black. No pupils. Just an endless void. 

This was the same way I remember him coming to save me—as he had done so many times before. 

I knew who he was, but he seemed different now.  Strangely, I had not seen him for a couple of months, but he had changed so much.

He stood taller than I remembered, his muscles taut with raw power. Had he always been this strong, or had I just never seen him like this before? His face—twisted with something dark, something unfamiliar. He never let me see him like this. Had he been hiding this side of himself all along? That cold, deathly gaze in his eyes... was it always there, just waiting to surface?

"D... are you okay?" I asked, my voice shaky. The adrenaline, the shock, the storm—I could barely get the words out.

He didn’t answer.

And for the first time, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to hear his response.