DIFFERENT (Different Series Book 1) (6 page)

              ‘You know what you did. Just stay away from me.’ I headed towards the door.

              ‘With pleasure,’ he said to my back as I left his room.

              I took my stupid denim jacket off, tugging extra hard to pull it off my arms, and then I put my black jacket on, instantly feeling better.

              As I was walking down the stairs, the music started up again from Brandon’s room. I rolled my eyes as I walked back into the living room, where Megan was repositioning one of the sofas.

              ‘You found it, then?’ she said, as I helped her push the sofa back towards the wall.

              ‘Yeah, thanks. Anyway, I better go, else Louisa will be stressing at me.’

              ‘Okay, see you tomorrow,’ she smiled.

              ‘Yeah, bye.’ I gave her a wave as I walked towards to the door.

              ‘Yay, can we go now please? I’ve been so bored standing here trying to stop Alf from eating the plants,’ Louisa said as I stepped outside.

              ‘You’re the one that dragged me here.’

              ‘Well, you got your jacket back, didn’t you? Did you see Brandon?’

              ‘Nah,’ I said as I followed her up the driveway.

              ‘Good, I’d have been super jealous if you’d seen him when I hadn’t.’

              ‘He’s only a boy. He’s nothing special.’

              ‘So not true,’ she huffed.

              I couldn’t help but smile at Louisa’s response. She was so innocent and naïve, qualities I loved about her, but I also found myself worrying that one day they’d get her into trouble. If I struggled to handle myself around boys like Max and Brandon, then how would someone like Louisa cope?

              ‘Come on, we’ve got a park to get to.’

              ‘Yeah, okay,’ she half smiled.

              I really hadn’t wanted to have been dragged to Megan’s, but I was kinda glad that I had been. At least now I’d confronted Brandon, and I didn’t think that he’d dare tell anyone about what I’d done. Now I just needed to sort things out with Leo and figure out who that boy from last night was and what he wanted.

Chapter Five

‘Will you just ring him?’ Louisa demanded as I checked my phone yet again.

              ‘I was only checking it,’ I replied as I put it back into my bag, wrapped my arms around myself, and begrudgingly walked alongside her.

              She’d taken Alf off his lead and thrown a stick far out across the park for him, but still he refused to leave her side.

              ‘Alf, why are you acting odd?’ she asked him as she bent down and rubbed around his ears.

              ‘Maybe he’s just tired or something.’ I shrugged my shoulders.

              ‘Maybe I’ve over-walked him. Let’s go home.’ She placed the lead back on him and then started to walk him towards the park exit.

              I wasn’t going to argue with her. I felt really exhausted, and I just wanted to go and chill in my room.

              As we walked across the park’s path the sky started to spit droplets that landed on my jacket. With one hand, Louisa pulled the hood of her pink and white coat up and quickened her pace. She didn’t like the rain, whereas I thought there was something kinda tranquil about it.

              By the time we neared the Prestons’ house, the rain pelted down with a vengeance, so that it drenched my hair and dripped down my face. Louisa squealed as she darted out of the way of puddles. She was wearing her bright pink ballet pumps, which were definitely not rainproof.

              ‘Celeste,’ someone said from behind me, which caused both us to spin around.

              Standing only a few houses away from the Prestons’ was the blonde-haired boy from last night. He was in the same grey top he’d been in the first time I’d seen him, only this time it was darkened from the rain, and once again he had his hands in his pockets.

              ‘Can we talk?’

              ‘Who is he, and why does he want to talk in the rain?  Celeste, my feet are drenched. I’m going inside,’ Louisa said as she licked the rain off her lips and then scrunched up her face.

              ‘He’s just someone from school. Listen, I’ll be inside soon, okay?’

              ‘I’ve never seen him at school.’

              ‘Please Louisa, I’ll catch you up.’

              ‘Okay,’ she huffed out. ‘Come on, Alf, let’s go and get dry.’

              I watched her walk up the road, careful not to say anything until she was out of sight and I could no longer hear the squelching of her shoes.

              ‘What do you want?’ I asked him, wary when he began to walk closer to me.

              ‘I just want to talk, that’s all.’

              ‘I don’t want to talk. You’ve got to stop following me. Whatever you think you saw, you were mistaken, okay? I don’t know who you are or what you want. I don’t even know what your name is. You just need to stop whatever it is you’re doing and leave me alone.’

              ‘My name’s Finn, and I can’t tell you much more about me, but you have to believe me when I say that I’m here to protect you.’

              ‘I don’t need protecting. I can look after myself.’ I started to walk.

              ‘Please, Celeste, you’re in danger. Meet me Monday morning at your school by the bike racks, and we can talk more then.’

              I didn’t know what to say, so instead I just stood there staring at him. That was when I saw Terry walking up the street in his dark green waterproof jacket and black wellington boots.

              ‘Please, Celeste,’ Finn said, and he turned and walked off up the road before Terry reached us.

              ‘Is everything okay here?’ he asked as he stopped in front of me.

              ‘Yeah,’ I said, as I looked behind me at Finn’s back in the distance.

              ‘Who was that boy?’ He put emphasis on the word ‘boy’ as if it were a dirty word.

              ‘Just someone from school.’

              ‘Well, couldn’t he have waited till Monday to see you? This weather is far too horrendous to be standing out in the rain. Gloria and I were both worried sick about you and Louisa. Come on, let’s get you inside.’

              I nodded my head in agreement as Terry gestured for me to follow him. I took one last look behind me, but Finn had gone.

***

Monday arrived, and I awoke to my school uniform neatly placed on the chair in my bedroom. I’d never had anyone lay my uniform out before. Not just that, but it was always freshly ironed and also smelt of fabric softener. I got dressed and then looked at myself in my bedroom mirror as I tied my hair into bunches.

              I suppose that I looked as good as I could in my pleated grey school skirt, white blouse, and back cardigan, although I still thought that school uniforms were lame.

              I didn’t want to go into school today; I didn’t want to face Leo. He was the only person in Oakwood besides Louisa that I classed as a friend. Without him it’d be like the old days where I just didn’t fit in. Without him I’d just be the friendless weird girl.

              Then there was Finn. Who was he? There were so many answers I wanted to know about him, yet at the same time I didn’t know if I would meet him or not. Was I really in danger? And if I was, then how could he help me? Nothing made sense. I didn’t make sense.

              As soon as I arrived in the schoolyard, I found myself telling Louisa that I’d see her later as I found my feet carrying me towards the bike rack.

              I recognised Finn instantly. He stood behind a boy who was bent down putting his bike lock on. He was in a black zip-up top, and he had this hood on. I lingered about until the boy chaining his bike up left, and then I walked closer to Finn.

              ‘You came,’ he smiled.

              ‘Yeah,’ I replied, looking at him properly for the first time. I hadn’t noticed before how cute he actually was. He eyes were a dark shade of brown, and his cheeks dimpled as he smiled. ‘I can’t stay long. I have class soon.’

              ‘I know that.’

              ‘Then what do you want?’

              ‘I want to help you. You need to trust me, Celeste. There are people who know what you can do, and these people want you.’

              ‘But I can’t do anything. I’m just a teenage girl trying to fit into this town. I like it here, I like my new family, and I don’t want to mess it up. I think it’s best if you just leave me alone. I’m not in any danger; there’s no reason why I would be.’             

              ‘What about the pond, Celeste, or the fire? Do you know anyone else that could have done the things that you did?’

              I felt as if someone had glued me to the floor. I was too shocked to move. I didn’t understand what was happening. How did he know about those things? It was all in my past, and I wanted to keep it there.

              ‘I don’t know what you’re on about,’ I said, just before the bell rang. ‘Look, I’ve got to go.’

              ‘Meet me later, please, seven in the park.’ He reached out for my arm, and I instinctively pulled it away. ‘Please, Celeste, I’m trying to help you.’

              ‘Maybe. Look, I’ve got to go.’ I weaved around the bike racks as I walked away from him.

              ‘I know where your mother is.’ his words trailed over to me, causing me to turn around abruptly.

              ‘My parents died when I was a baby.’

              ‘Don’t always believe what you’ve been told. I’ll see you later, Celeste.’

              I carried on walking as I tried to digest his words. My parents were dead; why would I be brought up being told they were dead if at least my mum was still alive? Was he just saying this so that I’d meet him later, or was there truth behind his words? To lie about something like that would be a low thing to do, but it made no sense why he was telling me this now.

              How did he know about the fire and the pond? Who was he, and how did he possibly know about these things?

              My head was buzzing as I quickly walked up the school corridor and made my way to my locker. Great, so I was going to be late for class again. Mr. Walker was going to freak out, and it wasn’t like I was going to be able to concentrate in class after what Finn just told me.

              There weren’t many people left in the corridor, just the stragglers who were walking quickly towards their classes. I still had my books to sort out, and all the thoughts in my head were spinning. By the time I pushed open the classroom door and headed towards my seat, I knew without looking at Mr. Walker that he’d be frowning at me.

              Leo didn’t look at me as I sat down next to him. I thought that he was meant to be my best friend, and I really could have done with one of those right then. Instead, he was still being lame.

              Mr. Walker paced in silence down one of the aisles in between the desks, paused in front of my desk, and sighed as he placed a red piece of paper before me and then walked off. I heard some girls sat behind me start giggling, and I didn’t have to turn around to know that it was Veronica and Rose. Great, if Finn hadn’t confused me enough, he’d now gone and caused me to get a detention slip.

              I stuffed the slip into the front of my bag, and then I found myself staring out of the window. I looked at the now empty spot on the school field where I’d seen Finn.

              Should I meet Finn later, or should I just forget about him? My parents were dead, which was why I’d been shoved from one foster home to another throughout my life. If my mum was still alive, then why didn’t she raise me? Why would she have given me away and let me think that she was dead?

              As soon as registration was over I grabbed my bag and beat Leo out of the classroom. My first class was English, which wasn’t with Leo. Normally I hated sitting in Mrs. Bowen’s always-cold classroom as she droned on about literature in her low-pitched voice, but today I was glad to get a break from Leo.

              I took my seat at the back of the room, in front of the board that had a load of book quotes stuck to it, and I prepared to fall into a daydream state for the next hour. Someone put their bag on the desk next to mine, and I looked up as I chewed on the corner of my lip. It was then that I saw Megan. She had a red hairband in her glossy hair, and she was smiling at me.  No one ever sat by me besides Leo, so I didn’t get why they were now, let alone Megan. She could have sat by whoever she wanted too, and there were other spare seats. What if it was because of Brandon? What if he had told her what I could do, and now she wanted to confront me?

              ‘Hi,’ she said as she sat down.

              ‘Hey,’ I said, trying not to sound as flustered as I felt.

              She didn’t say any more, and as she took her textbooks out of her bag, I made sure that my row of pens was lined up straight.

              The whole Megan thing was odd, but it was nothing compared to what Finn had said, and I found myself unable to shove thoughts of that boy from my head.

***

Have you ever felt like you didn’t quite fit in even though you wanted to? Have you ever tried to change so that people would like you more even though you weren’t being true to yourself? Have you ever wanted to stand in a room full of people and scream the loudest that you could until your voice went hoarse?

              Every foster home I got passed from, I didn’t feel like I belonged, and at every school I was sent to, people sensed that I wasn’t like them. However hard I tried, I would always be different, and I would end up doing something to make things even worse. I couldn’t control who I was and what I could do. Maybe this was why my mum gave me away. Maybe she was so afraid of me that she wanted me to believe that she was dead so that I would never go looking for her. If my own mum didn’t love me, then how could anyone else? How could I be expected to love myself?