III• Stop it!

"Stop it"

The girl said again into the quiet cafeteria, her voice, a whisper that should have been lost in the cafeteria noise.

Hayden didn't know why it was that everyone stopped what they were doing, eyes stuck on her, only that his did the same.

There was the familiar odd beat, and then the skip.

She wasn't looking at him.

Hayden surprised himself with the almost overpowering need to have her eyes on him, those emeralds that blazed in a cold flame, icily hot.

"Raven" A girl next to her whispered , and Hayden knew then that that was her name.

'A very fitting name' he thought, a small smile lighting his features as his dimples deepened into his face, a most attractive picture for anyone who'd been deprived the sight of beauty.

His eyes raked over her black curls of hair, as black as the feathers of a raven but far more beautiful.

Insanely, the urge to have those hairs glide through his fingers, brush against his skin and most weirdly, have the scent of them registered in his being gripped him.

And Hayden there knew that he'd very well lost his marbles.

However, he had to jerk himself out of the weird fantasies he'd trapped himself in and into reality. And what a crazy reality it was.

"Why?" The girl who'd spoken earlier screamed, eyes wide as she glared murderously at Raven.

By now, everyone's attention was caught between the two girls; Raven and the hysterical one.

Hayden still didn't know her name.

Raven's expression remained frigid as she regarded the girl, her eyes frosted over in an unforgiving layer of apathy.

She looked at the girl like she was of no importance.....like she hadn't just been screaming.

"Frosty, icy, don't-give-a-damn Raven Stone. Why do you care about what we say about the new boy? You've never cared about anything we said before anyways" the girl asked, a sadistic smile on her face.

"Always putting on airs, sitting with us at lunch, acting like the queen bee even though you're just a weird, socially awkward nerd who never talks" She walked around Raven, circling her.

"Hanging out with the nerds, dorks and the weird choristers in a show of what?!..." She paused, laughing maniacally.

".....Leadership?, friendship?"

Hayden could feel an unfamiliar anger course through his veins, a blinding blanket that cast a lid over his rationality until he could see only red.

He could hear a buzz in his ears as he clenched his palms, willing himself to stop shaking.

And then when he looked at Raven.....he shattered.

Not because she was crying, or even looked hurt, but because she kept up her mask of apathy even while it was so obvious that she was breaking.

Her face was a blanket of iciness, making it seem like everything the girl said to her had no impact.

But behind it all, Hayden could see the light fade out of those emerald eyes.

He could see the beautiful, blinding light in those eyes that had stirred this madness in him disintegrate.

Hayden had never seen a more heartbreaking sight.

"And now!" The girl's voice came out more shrilly, "you're trying to protect him"

Hayden wasn't ready for the disgust, the loathing that laced the girl's words as she turned to him sharply.

In that moment, all the anger he felt dissolved into nothingness, giving way to an overwhelming feeling of insecurity.

Now, he was the younger version of himself that hid in stalls, whiling away the time, counting down the seconds until he'd hear the bell so he'd escape school, away from their taunts, their hate.

He was the boy who'd cry as he tried to make the holes in his shoes and shirt less noticeable, cry as his schoolmates stuck their fingers in the holes of his shirt and wiggled their fingers until the holes got bigger.

He was the boy who'd curse his fate, curse his shoes that would never shine like the others', his shirt that would never be free of holes like the others', his hair that had never been to the barber's like the others.

"This filthy.....person. For God's sake, look at those clothes" She said shrilly, disgust dripping from her tone, "they're patched everywhere. Not like his shoe is in a better state" She laughed a little at her jab, and Hayden could hear snickers from some places in the crowd, most especially from Raven's table.

He tried to tuck his shoes in, feeling tears sting at the inside of his eyes.

"I guess these are the kinds of guys you like huh?" The girl turned to look at Raven, who by now had her composure hanging on a very, very thin thread.

"You'd make a good couple you know?" She mused for a while, "The mute rich girl and the filthy peasant. Imagine how your story would sell! You'd be a perfect fi..." What hurtful words were going to leave the girl's mouth the next moment were lost as her face whipped to the side in one fast, violent motion.

And before her was a Raven no resident of West hill in it's entirety had ever seen.

A raven with eyes that could freeze oceans, an expression so grave it would crumble mountains and a beauty so magnificent that it made the word lose all it's worth.

"How dare you?" The girl shrieked, hands raised to hit Raven back.

Hayden made to move, his body reacting before he could even think but just then, a large form appeared before Raven, and his body jerked back.

There was now a guy standing before Raven, holding the hands of the shrieking girl in his as he stared down at her furiously.

"What do you think you're doing?" He asked, voice holding a deep, smooth timbre.

Behind him, Hayden could hear murmurs, as people spoke rapidly in whispers. However, his gaze was locked onto the male in front of Raven.

He was everything Hayden would never be; A Caucasian male that stood almost as tall as Hayden did, and that was saying something!, dark brown hair full and voluminous in that wind swept way Hayden's thicker hair would never grow to be, his clothes had no patches in them— in fact, Hayden could bet with his life that the entirety of what he wore, from his shirt down to his shoes wouldn't cost as much as the guy's shirt did.

Most painfully, Hayden noticed how perfect he guy looked beside Raven, how well they complemented one another.

Raven's form stood surely behind the guy's back, almost as if she trusted him to take care of her, like she knew he would never let her get hurt.

Hayden felt a sudden pang of jealousy, so intense that he could almost taste it.

"Move along guys, show's over" the guy instructed, dispelling the crowd instantly.

Hilda moved closer to where Hayden stood, "Are you okay Hayden?"

Her eyes looked comforting as she smiled at him concerned, blue eyes crinkling at the edges.

"I'm okay, thanks. Moreover, I've had enough experience " Hayden's smiled, hoping Hilda would drop the issue and laugh at his little joke.

She didn't.

It was clear in the way her eyes widened in shock, welling up with tears as she blinked back furiously.

Hayden instantly knew that his attempt at lightening the tension was a bad one.

"I'm joking, Hilda! Good lord, can't you take a joke" His laugh after that sounded a lot more genuine, he even made conscious effort to let the sides of his eyes crinkle.

This time Hilda believed him, punching him in the arm lightly as she wiped her eyes.

"Stop making those kinds of jokes Hayden!" She scolded, smiling at him for a brief moment before her countenance shifted.

"Don't let what she said get to you. Beth is your stereotypical mean girl with the obvious blonde hair, nose job and basically every other job there is— even her eyelids" she whispered conspiratorially.

"...and surprise, surprise her daddy is dear ol' mayor Walsh" Hilda finished with a look of disdain.

It was apparent that she hated the girl, Beth.

Hayden smiled slightly, until once again he turned towards the table Raven was on.

Raven wasn't standing in front of the girl anymore. Instead she was sitting, face embodying no expression.

She wasn't looking at anything, just staring.

Hayden saw the boy who'd been standing in front of her on the seat next to her.

He watched the boy talk to her with a smile on his face. And though Hayden couldn't hear what the boy was saying, he knew they were words that were said to make her smile.

Another pang hit his chest.

He watched, almost creepily as the boy continued to speak to an unresponsive Raven.

And whether it was hope or happiness that filled him, Hayden didn't know; the only thing he did know was that it made him happy to see the boy fail in his attempt to make her smile.

"Why are you smiling?" Hayden's attention was drawn to the table, where five faces stared at him in confusion.

"Maybe he has a weird fetish where he gets off on being insulted" Connor murmured as he popped a fry into his mouth.

"Connor!" Hilda said scoldingly, leaning over to hit his chest. Hayden watched in surprise as Connor held her hands in his, keeping them against his chest as he stared into her eyes.

Hilda looked beyond flustered, trying to pull her hands from his. Eventually, Connor realised her hand, hurt flashing across his features for a brief moment before he popped another fry into his mouth.

"...Well" Hilda said, clearing her throat to dispel the heavy tension.

"That was......" The twins said simultaneously, discontinuing their statement when they saw Hilda's flushed face.

"What's Beth's issue, Matt?" Padma asked, rescuing them all from another round of awkward silence.

Matt who'd been busy on his phone looked up, a little startled.

"What?" He asked, confused.

"Beth. What's her issue?" Parvati echoed her sister's question.

"How am I meant to know?" Matt asked, rolling his eyes.

"Well, ....she is your cousin" Padma said sheepishly.

"Half-cousin" Matt corrected, angry. Hayden was confused, he'd never felt more out of place than he did at that moment.

He was the sixth wheel in their pentagonal friendship, an outsider that lingered outside, not privy to any of their inside jokes and discussions.

"I don't know what goes on in that girl's head" Matt mumbled after a while. "I think she feels like Raven upstaged her by moving to West hill. It started when the title of Miss West hill was given to Raven instead of her, she'd been Miss West hill for all those years so she probably felt like it was her birthright", he explained.

"But Raven has never once even showed up for the town fair. I get that everyone calls Raven Miss West hill because her name keeps being called, but Beth always ends up taking the title in her absense every year", Padma asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Hayden listened attentively, intrigued.

" I think that's what made it worse. Beth started to feel like she was only getting the title of Mrs West hill because Raven never wanted it. The Miss West hill title lost all meaning to her, I guess", Matt replied.

"It's understandable why she turned out that way innit?" Parvati quipped in.

Hayden, without much thought asked what he really wanted to know. "And this Raven, who exactly is she around here?".

Matt was the first person to answer him, and where he'd been annoyed before, there was something close to pride in his voice as he replied Hayden.

" Raven is as I'm sure you've noticed, one of the popular kids. But at the same time, she isn't. If that makes any sense?" Hayden was even more confused at Matt's reply.

"Oh, zip it Matt" Padma scolded, "leave the story telling to us" The other twin said, smiling wickedly.

"Let's tell you all about Raven Stone" The twins said to Hayden simultaneously, in a way that sounded more scary than comforting.

**********

28/10/2020

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Ameenah