"Hello, Indianna."
Indianna looked up in surprise when Greyson sat next to her in their next class, French. She quickly lowered her gaze when he met her eyes and fidgeted nervously in her seat. She didn't say anything.
"Now, this would be where you say hi back, otherwise it would be considered rude, Indianna," Greyson said in a low voice. He smirked and his dark eyes twinkled with amusement when Indianna's eyes widened and forced out a quiet "Hi."
"I don't think I introduced myself in our last class. I'm Greyson Evans." Greyson spoke with a confidence that Indianna had never had. You could tell that this boy was not used to being questioned or argued back to. He was used to being in charge, and he liked it.
"Yes, Brooke told me," Indianna told him. She was certain that she was not going to forget who Greyson Evans was any time soon. Just the thought of him being within touching distance was making her nervous. Her skin was buzzing from their close proximity and he seemed to take over all of her senses. She could feel his body heat, smell his cologne, she was drawn to look at only him, and when he spoke all she could focus on was his deep, velvety voice.
"Brooklyn," he murmured and nodded. He was watching Indianna carefully, studying her. He was very aware that she was avoiding his eyes. "You'd do well to stick with her. Brandon, however, he's a miserable dick."
Indianna's eyes flickered to Greyson's for a split second. "He seems nice."
Greyson rolled his eyes. "Not everyone in this town is who they say they are, Indianna."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Indianna asked curiously, her eyebrows furrowing.
"Just be careful who you make friends with," Greyson warned. His tone was firm and Indianna couldn't help but wonder why he cared.
"But Brandon and Brooke—"
"They are good people. I just don't like Brandon." Greyson waved his hand dismissively. "It's not them that I'm talking about."
"I've not met anyone else." Unless she counted the voice in her head.
"I'm not surprised."
"Why?" Indianna found herself meeting his eyes.
"You're not exactly approachable, are you, Indie?"
"Indie?"
Greyson ignored her. "I get it, you're shy, you're not used to people, are you? I plan to change that, though. It's not every day I get to help out a social outcast."
"What? I'm not a social—"
"I'm teasing," Greyson interrupted and chuckled. "Besides, do you know how many girls would kill to be in your position?"
"No?"
Greyson leaned closer to Indianna and she sucked in a breath, staring at him cautiously. "With a click of my fingers, I could have anything I want," he whispered. "People are terrified of me, but they also want me. And here I am, talking to you."
"Oh. Okay." Indianna didn't know what else to say. She wasn't good with conversations or being sociable, especially when she was talking to someone as confident, self-assured and cocky as Greyson.
"So, Indie, why did you move here?" Greyson asked when it became obvious that Indianna was not going to carry on the conversation.
"My mother wanted a change of scenery," Indianna answered, but her voice was quieter, distant. She did not want to talk to Greyson anymore. She wanted to be left alone. She hated the looks she was receiving from students in the classroom, watching her with curious eyes, gossiping with their friends about how Greyson Evans was talking to the shy new girl.
"Do you live with your father?" Greyson pressed, very aware of the students whispering about Indianna and him. However, he didn't care about what other people had to say about him.
"No," Indianna answered after a silence. She fiddled with the ring on her finger. "He's not with us."
"Away," Greyson murmured and raised his eyebrows. "Okay."
"Why are you talking to me?" Indianna asked suddenly, surprising herself that she had the confidence. Indianna knew of boys like Greyson and she knew that they did not waste their time with girls like her.
"Because I want to. And I always get what I want." There wasn't a sliver of doubt in his voice.
Indianna frowned, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear, wondering what Greyson truly wanted, but she nodded and said, "Okay."
"What's this?" Greyson asked, catching Indianna's wrist and turning it over.
Indianna paled and her eyes went wide. Greyson felt her whole body go tense and he could feel her pulse quicken. "Greyson, l-let go of me."
"What is it?" Greyson asked again, raising his eyebrows at her.
"You're making me uncomfortable!" Indianna squirmed and tried to pull her arm away, but she was not successful. She looked up into Greyson's dark eyes and swallowed nervously, he seemed annoyed and she was pretty certain that he was not going to let her go without an answer. "You can see what it is," she whimpered eventually.
Greyson blinked once and said, "How did you get it?"
"How else do you get a scar of a bite mark on your wrist?" Indianna asked with a bitter edge to her voice that Greyson was surprised to hear. "You get bitten."
"You were attacked?"
Indianna was silent.
"Answer me, Indie. I do not like being ignored."
Indianna gulped and looked away from Greyson. He was starting to scare her but she knew that the easiest option was to answer his questions, no matter how uncomfortable they made her.
"Yes, I was attacked."
Greyson released Indianna's arm and she immediately shot out of her seat, attempting to get away from the boy that was intimidating and scaring her, but as quick as she thought she was, Greyson was quicker. He blocked Indianna's path and looked down at her with an amused smirk.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Indianna looked up at him in shock, her eyes widening in anger. "Are you insane?" she hissed. "Do you like terrorising the new girls? Is that what gets you off—" She groaned in frustration when Greyson blocked her way again and pressed her palm to her forehead. "Please, just let me pass!"
"Don't move," Greyson said sternly.
"You can't tell me what to do!" Indianna snapped. Indianna was quiet and reserved, she had a temper but it was buried very deep down. Greyson seemed to have no trouble digging up. As Indianna's temper grew, her shyness faded away. "Get away from me!"
Greyson's jaw was clenched and he grabbed Indianna's arm, holding her in place. "I said," he whispered in her ear, his voice resembling something very close to a growl. Shivers ran down Indianna's spine. "Don't move. Now sit the hell down and do as I say."
At this moment, Indianna was scared of Greyson, however, her anger was easily overpowering her fear and shyness. She thought she had met boys like Greyson before, but she was wrong. She had never encountered this before.
"Who the hell do you think you are?" Indianna demanded. "My father? You can't order me around, you're freaking crazy! Now, get the hell out of my way or I will scream."
Suddenly, the cold look on Greyson's face was gone, replaced with an expression that wasn't kind, but a lot softer than it was. His grip loosened and Indianna's arm slipped through his fingers. His eyes darted back and forth as he looked at Indianna. Her eyes were wide and her cheeks slightly flushed.
"It's anger," he said after a moment of silence.
Indianna blinked, shocked at his sudden change in personality. "W-what?" she spluttered.
"Anger," Greyson said. "It brings out your confidence. It helps you to stand up for yourself."
Indianna's mouth dropped. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "You did that on purpose, didn't you? You were trying to piss me off?!"
Greyson's lips twitched. "I wanted to test a theory," he shrugged and dropped back into his chair.
"You were scaring me! Why would you do something like that?"
"I wanted to see how quickly you'd get angry."
"Why? That's cruel!"
"Don't worry about it," Greyson said dismissively and he gestured to the chair next to him. "Are you going to sit back down?"
"Tell me, Greyson!"
"It's not the right time."
Indianna suddenly froze. The voice had said that to her earlier.
'It's you.' Indianna looked at Greyson as she spoke the words in her mind. He was looking up at her, but there was no change in his expression. His face was blank. With a sigh, Indianna sat back down in her chair, not seeing Greyson's lips form a smirk.
'I have no idea what you are talking about.'
The voice made Indianna jump and she immediately looked at Greyson, growing. She realised that she could feel a presence in her head. It felt like this person was pushing his way through her mind, forcing himself in and invading her privacy.
"Are you okay, Indie?" Greyson asked with a curious tone to his voice.
Indianna narrowed her eyes and looked at her hands. "I'm fine," she muttered and focused on the presence in her mind.
'You do know what I'm talking about,' she insisted.
'No, I'm afraid I do not.'
'Just tell me who you are and what you are doing in my head! If you're in my head does that mean...' Indianna stopped herself but the voice answered her unanswered question.
'Yes. Yes, I can read your mind.'
"Oh my gosh," Indianna whispered. 'Who are you?'
'I can't tell you yet, Indie.'
Indianna gasped and she looked up at Greyson who was now on his phone. He slowly turned to her. "Do you want something, Indie?"
"I... Er." Indianna shook her head hurriedly. "No, it's nothing."
'You're going to drive me insane,' she said to the voice in her head.
'I'm glad I could be of service, sugar.'
'Sugar?' Indianna questioned.
'Is there something wrong with me calling you sugar?'
'Yes. I don't like it.'
'Then it's perfect.'
Indianna had only had two conversations with this boy, but she could imagine him smirking. He was making her blood boil. She already hated him.
'Aren't you just a bundle of joy?'
'Stay out of my head. Leave me alone.'
'You're no fun.'
'Get out of my head!'
'I'll be back, sugar.'
The presence in her head disappeared, and Indianna let out a long breath. It was only the second period, and she already felt drained.
"Are you alright, Indie?" Greyson asked.
Indianna sighed and rubbed her eyes tiredly. "I have no idea."
Chapter 3
Indianna had made it to lunch, and she couldn't be happier. All she wanted to do was find a quiet corner of the library and be by herself for the first time that day. During her third lesson, she had Ace, Greyson's friend, trying to talk to her and then Brandon in the fourth. They both seemed nice, but Indianna hated them talking to her. She was better alone. Being alone was what she was good at.
The voice hadn't spoken to her again and Indianna smiled as she opened her locker. Maybe she was just nervous and was imagining it? Indianna crossed her fingers and hoped that was the case. She placed her books into her locker and when she shut it, Brooklyn appeared out of nowhere.
"Indianna!" She grinned, making Indianna jump from fright.
"You scared me," Indianna said and Brooklyn smiled apologetically.
"Sorry," Brooklyn laughed. Indianna wondered if Brooklyn was ever not happy. She had yet to see her without a bubbly smile on her face. "So, I thought, considering you don't know anyone, did you want to sit with my friends and me at lunch?"
"Oh..." Indianna bit her lip, shifting awkwardly on her feet. She avoided eye contact. "Um, thanks, but I was going to go to the library."
"You don't want to meet everyone?" Brooklyn's face dropped slightly and Indianna felt guilty for turning her down, but she still shook her head.
"I... I, er, I need to get some work done at the library," Indianna made up an excuse as Brooklyn's attention was drawn to someone behind Indianna.
"I told you that you were a social outcast."
Indianna turned round to see Greyson looking down at her, raising his dark eyebrows in amusement.
"Greyson!" Brooklyn gasped. "Don't be rude!"
Greyson smirked. "What? It's the truth."
"You're an asshole, but you don't see me telling you that!"
"I know very well what you think of me, Brooklyn," Greyson said dismissively. "Why don't you run along so I can have a chat with your new friend?"
Brooklyn narrowed her eyes at Greyson and crossed her arms over her chest. "You're such a dick."
Greyson glanced at Brooklyn with his dark eyes. "You better watch your mouth, Brooklyn," he warned. "I was just with Harry, and he's looking for you. It'd be wise to find him before he finds you."
"Tell him to piss off," Brooklyn shrugged and looked back at Indianna just as Ace and Kal approached them, followed by a boy with blond hair that was pushed back, a few strands falling forward, grazing his high cheekbones.
"Speak of the devil," Greyson murmured, giving Brooklyn a knowing look. He turned and greeted the blond guy who was staring at Brooklyn who was trying her hardest to avoid eye contact.
"Indianna, shall I show you to the library?" Brooklyn suggested and stepped to the side but the blond boy was in front of her immediately, tutting and shaking his head. He placed his hands on Brooklyn's hips and gently pushed her back onto the lockers. "Harry, I—"
"You've been avoiding me," he whispered and narrowed his eyes. "You know I don't appreciate you ignoring me, babe."
"I totally haven't been ignoring you," Brooklyn said with a sweet smile. "Why on earth would I ignore you, Harry? You're a total delight to be around, aren't you? I can't think why I would want to be away from you. Now, do me a favour, and leave me alone so I can show Indianna to the library."
The blond boy, Harry, turned to look at Indianna, not having noticed her before. "Find your own way to the library," he said, barely sparing her a glance and he turned his attention back to Brooklyn who's mouth dropped.
"You can't—" Brooklyn was cut off when Harry leaned down and kissed her. Immediately, Indianna noticed Brooklyn relaxing in Harry's embrace and her lips moved in sync with his. She gripped his arms and Harry tangled his fingers in her curly hair. It was as if they had forgotten about the world around them and they were entirely focused on each other.
Indianna looked away, feeling awkward watching their intimate moment, and she caught Greyson rolling his eyes at the couple. They pulled apart when Kal, the ginger boy, made gagging noises and pretended to be sick.
"God, you'd think you two don't spend every night going for it—"
"Kal!" Brooklyn cried, her eyes going wide. "God, stop talking!"
Indianna quickly realised that no one was paying her any attention so she slowly took a step backwards, confident that she could slip away unnoticed. Greyson, however, was entirely focused on Indianna and he noticed her immediately. He turned his head, raising his eyebrows at her.
"Going somewhere, Indie?"
Indianna felt her cheeks going red when all eyes went to her. This was the opposite of what she wanted.
"Er... Yeah. The library. I'm just..." She took another step back and pointed behind her. "Gonna go."
"I don't mind showing you where to go," Brooklyn suggested kindly, stepping away from Harry.
"No," Harry interjected, his voice blunt. He wrapped his arm around Brooklyn, holding her to his chest, causing Brooklyn to narrow her eyes and elbow Harry in the stomach. "She does." He leaned down and whispered something into Brooklyn's ear which made her roll her eyes but a faint smile formed on her lips.
"It's fine," Indianna said quickly and she hurriedly turned around and walked away before anyone else could say anything. She pushed away the guilt she felt from being rude and focused on making her way through the crowds of students littering the cramped school corridors.
Indianna felt utterly exhausted when she finally sat down in the library. She let out a long sigh and closed her eyes, basking in the calming silence of the library. For the first time today, she felt at ease, surrounded by books and the few students that went to the library during lunch. Even the scent of dust and the poor ventilation of the library soothed her.
She was alone.
'Sugar?'
Indianna sighed when she heard the voice. It didn't make her jump this time, she was expecting it, having felt the presence creep into her mind. She chose to ignore the voice.
'Indianna, don't ignore me.'
Indianna scowled. 'Leave me alone,' she told the voice and reached into her pocket for her phone, attempting to distract herself.
The voice didn't give up. 'Indianna?'
Indianna shook her head and scrolled through her messages, ignoring the voice.
'Indianna!' The voice was so loud it made Indianna's brain rattle and she gasped as a sharp pain seared through her head. It passed quickly, but she felt disoriented and rubbed her eyes, trying to focus properly on the world around her as she recovered from the burst of pain.
'Did you do that?' Indianna asked the voice in her head cautiously. 'Did you hurt me?'
There was a silence. 'I think I did.'
'You think!' Indianna didn't think it was possible to yell in her mind, but clearly it was. 'You think? That hurt! You hurt me!'
'I can find it hard to control my anger at times, sugar. It'd be wise to do as I say and we can avoid that happening again in the future.'
'You hurt me because you got angry?' Indianna hissed. 'What the hell is wrong with you?'
'This is new for both of us, sugar. I didn't plan on causing you pain, but you made me angry and it just happened.'
'Are you even going to apologise?'
'Are you going to apologise for ignoring me?'
'That's not fair! You're insane! What do you want with me?'
'I can't tell you.'
'Why the hell not!' Indianna was growing increasingly frustrated.
'I want to tell you, sugar—'
'Stop calling me that!'
'Don't interrupt me. I want to tell you, but I don't know if you are ready.'
Indianna frowned and closed her eyes, rubbing her temples with her fingers. 'Ready for what?' she asked eventually.
'The truth.'
'What do you mean?'
'I can't tell you until you are ready, sugar.'
'I'm scared. You're scaring me,' Indianna admitted. Her head was full of emotions and she wasn't sure what to feel. Anger? Fear? Confusion?
'I'm sorry about that, Indie. It's not my intention.'
'Answer me one question?'
'That depends on what the question is.'
'Do you go to this school?'
The voice paused. 'Yes, I do.'
'Are you in—'
'Only one question, sugar.'