Love Me And Never Let Me Go

***indicates the beginning of the next chapter. Happy reading!!!


***Pen Clicking***


Click clack click clack.

I sat there in the unfamiliar classroom quietly. I didn't feel anything at all. I never did, anyway.

Click clack click clack.

Oh, alright. So maybe I did feel emotion to some degree. But it was very much dulled after I had been bullied in my previous school. I stared blankly into the space, ignoring all the hushed whispers of my new classmates.

Click clack click clack.

The clicking and clacking was starting to get annoying. I closed my eyes and tried to block it out of my mind. It was the sound of a mindless student clicking a pen repeatedly while attempting a difficult piece of homework that he/she had forgotten to complete the previous night. And that mindless student was sitting right behind me.

Click clack click clack.

My fuse burned out. I whirled around to face the perpetrator of the grating noise, sending my long, silvery hair flying. I glared at the boy sitting behind me. Indeed, his pen was poised over our mathematics workbook, which was half-complete.

"Stop the obnoxious clicking, for God's sake!" I hissed at him. He dropped his pen in surprise and looked up at me. He had a messy mop of dark brown hair, which looked like he had walked backwards through a bush on his way to school. He had heartbreakingly brown eyes that stared at me innocently. He had dropped his pen at my sudden outburst.

He reached out a hand, and I flinched instinctively. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously; people only ever outstretched their hands to hit me or play a prank on me...

No! Miss Olivia had told me that it would be a fresh start, that no one would know that I had no parents, that I lived in an orphanage, that my mother was a victim of human trafficking...

"Umm... Are you okay?"

I blinked and I was transported back to reality. The pen-clicking boy was staring at me, confused. He reached out again, but I took a sharp step backwards.

"Don't touch me!" I hissed at him. He squinted through the cute, nerdy glasses that were perched on his nose.

"Why?"

Why indeed. I couldn't answer him. I hated physical contact with other humans. It made me feel vulnerable, exposed and unsafe; they were within striking distance if they could touch me, and that was a bad thing. I grew to hate even a touch on the fingertips as a pen was passed, or a stranger brushing against me as I walked on the streets.

I stared back at him coldly. "Because I can't stand it." I replied in a frosty tone. He stared at me for a few heart-stopping moments. His eyes seemed to be reading every single bit of my story and my shameful past. Then he looked down and sighed.

"I guess it can't be helped." he said, kicking back in his chair. "I'm Derek. And you are...?" he asked, fiddling with his pen. His skin was very tanned, like he had spent too many hours in the summer sun.

"Lucy." I said shortly. I ran a hand through my silver hair out of habit.

"What's with the silver hair?" Derek asked. I froze on the spot, unable to answer yet again.

"I like it." I replied lamely. He cocked his head to the side and observed me carefully, like an exquisite porcelain doll. I threw back my head and sighed.

"Good luck." I heard Derek say. I also heard the grin in his voice. My head snapped back down to look at him. He pointed to the group of boys huddled behind me.

"Seems like I'm not the only one that's charmed." he remarked. I didn't hear his statement as I stared at my male classmates, confused.

"What do you want?" I asked. I placed my hands on my hips, and stared at them harshly.

"Man, that is hot!" one of them, wearing a football jersey whistled. The other boys laughed in approval.

"I wonder how she would fare with a whip? What a dominatrix!" another said. I knew where this was going.

"Stay away from me." I said bitingly. I wasn't intimidated in the slightest; rather, I was quite amused at their crude and immature antics. Still, I wouldn't allow myself to be talked about like a whore.

The tallest one leaned forward. He was a lanky, handsome boy and had windswept blonde hair. His jaw was sharp and angular, and he has brilliant green eyes.

"Are you sure? Most girls in this school would kill to have my attention." he said, tilting my chin upwards with his hand.

"I said, STAY AWAY FROM ME!" I yelled, smacking his hand away with more force than necessary. He yelped in pain and drew back slightly. I glared at them, my hazel eyes burning with hostility.

"Hey, come on, it was just a joke--" the tall boy started, but he was interrupted by Derek.

"Shut up, Kevin." he said, stepping in front of me. Kevin glared at him.

"Go and look for some cheap girl, Derek. She's mine." Kevin said. He didn't see the blow coming.

Seconds later, he was on his knees, gasping in pain and clutching his stomach. Derek stared at me in disbelief.

"You kicked him!" Derek cried. I shrugged.

"So? He was being annoying." I replied nonchalantly. He stared for a few more seconds before shaking his head and muttering something under his breath.

"Care to join me for lunch?" he suddenly asked. I looked at him questioningly. He shrugged.

"If you don't mind... that is." he continued slowly.

"Okay." I said.

Deep inside, I had already fallen in love with this total stranger; I didn't know about his family, his friends or his past relationships, but I didn't care.

To the others, he was a totally random and silly nerd.

To me, he was perfect.


***Rembrandts***


That day, I had lunch with Derek. It was strange, not eating alone. He had introduced me to his friends at the start of our meal.

"Hey guys." Derek said happily. His glasses were slightly askew from the shoving in the rush to buy our lunch earlier. "This is Lucy. Lucy, these are my friends, the Rembrandts."

I raised an eye brow at his words. "Rembrandts?"

A small, yet imposing brunette sipped some juice as she answered me. "All of us have some sort of artistic side. I'm a singer. The name's Regent, by the way." she said, offering me a hand. I hesitated in taking it, but Derek rescused me.

"She doesn't like physical contact." he said, munching on a tuna sandwich. I heard the crunch of lettuce as he took another bite.

"Oh. Me neither, actually." Regent said, smiling. "I'm quite a loner."

A blonde girl who was lazily twirling a pen in her hand greeted me next. "I'm Jeanie." she said. I could feel something emenating from her. Something...bad.

I chose to ignore it as a tall, pale boy glanced at me, then glanced away again. "C-Cameron." he hesitated. He was fidgety and kept glancing around, as if wishing he was somewhere else. He was clutching a black badminton raquet tightly in his bony hand. His glasses were black as well, with a white stripe on the edge.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Angeline!" a bright, peppy girl with chestnut brown hair said, eagerly waving at me. I waved back hesitantly, unsure of such friendliness.

"Hey..." I said.

"Articulate." Derek noted teasingly. I glared at him threateningly.

"Shawn." A dark skinned boy said. He was munching on a salmon sandwich, quite similar to the one Derek was eating. He had short, cropped black hair.

The last member at the table was an older girl, probably a senior. She had long, brown hair tied back and was wearing a prefect's uniform. She stood up, gave me a startlingly threatening stare and spoke.

"Name?"

Didn't she hear Derek earlier? "Luciélia Aspen. Or Lucy."

She clicked the pen in her hand. "Age?"

"15. Year 9." I replied, beginning to feel impatient.

"Family status?"

She dropped the bomb.

I straightened my back and looked defiantly into her eyes as I spoke.

"None. I live in an orphanage. My mother was a prostitute and my father, as far as I know, was a wealthy man. I was born in the back of a tavern and left there with a bottle of spiked milk. I currently hold a part-time job to support myself. I gave myself my name, and I have no home to return to. At 15, I'm no longer permitted to stay at the orphanage." I said. Her jaw dropped.

"Wait... so that means you're homeless?!" she said, shocked. I nodded. "Yes. I've been sleeping in random places and sometimes a motel if I have the cash." I said quietly. Let them judge me. I didn't need friends who were going to be disgusted by me in the future.

She stared at me for a moment, then clasped a hand on my shoulder. I flinched a little, but she didn't seem to notice.

"It's settled. You're going to live with my family." she said. It was my turn to stare at her.

"Are you insane?" I asked. She shook her head and offered me her hand.

"Nope. I'm Tiffany Khoo, by the way. And Derek is my brother. Little brother." she informed. I stared between her and Derek.

"But he's taller than you!" was the first thing I blurted out. She laughed.

"We get that a lot. We're Malaysian Chinese, by the way. And excuse our tanned skin. There's Malay blood in us somewhere." she continued. I glanced at Derek, who nodded, confirming his sister's statements.

"But anyway, that's that. Derek, bring Lucy to the car later, will you?"

And that's pretty much how I got my foster family on the first day of school.


***The Reason I Hate Attendance Time***


This was the precise reason I never liked teachers that took attendance. But this guy knew my full name...?!

"How did you know my name?!" I growled threateningly. Our Biology teacher simply indicated with a firm gesture for me to sit down. I remained standing and glared at him.

"How. Do. You. Know. MY. FULL. NAME?!" I said, enraged. Why wasn't he answering me?! How did he know my middle name and the correct pronunciation to both my first and middle name?! I didn't even specify my middle name when I had been applying for the school!

Everyone was staring at me, dumbfounded at the girl who dared to scream at a fierce-looking teacher who wielded a scapel like a dagger. He had greying black hair that was neatly combed. He had a pair of silver glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. A dirty lab coat hung off his shoulders, like a second skin; you might think that it was dirty and ragged, but he probably took it as part of his daily regime. Despite his age, he had a fierce fire in his sparkling green eyes that promised adventure and fun.

"Luciélia Ashë Schmidt-Aspen. That's quite a mouthful, isn't it?" he said. It was a statement; the kind that had a firm, unrelenting tone, saying 'shut up and sit down now, or there will be trouble'.

I remained standing stubbornly.

He sighed. "Ms. Aspen, I really have to finish the register. If you would please, sit down." he said.

I stared at him icily. "Not before I know who you are." I replied coldly. He sighed again and dropped the pen in his hands. He rose from his desk and began pacing around the front of the lab.

"Where to begin? My name is Professor Achaius Adriel. You may call me Professor Adriel." he said. Pausing to tap on an empty glass tank on the far left side of the room, he continued. "I hate tapeworms. Most disgusting thing since sea cucumber. I am your Biology teacher for this year. And no, I am not Ariel the Little Mermaid."

He frowned at two boys on the opposite side of the room. They had been sniggering about something until the Professor called their names.

"Chael. Schmuel. Shut up." he said sternly. Both boys blinked before shutting their mouths. I, on the ither hand, was dumbfounded; how did he hear their discussion from all the way on the other side of the room and know both their names? Something was not quite right with this Professor Adriel.

He turned back to me. "Now, if you would sit down please, Ms. Aspen."

I gritted my teeth and threw myself into the chair. Crossing my arms, I stared back at him defiantly. He looked at me for a moment before sighing. I was sure his lips moved to say something, but I didn't hear the words.

Then, he straightened up, register in hand. "Michelle Catherine Evans!" he called.

I ran a hand through my hair exasperatedly. It was going to be a long day.

~~~

"Lucy!"

I knew the voice belonged to Derek. Stuffing the last of my belongings into my locker, I closed it and turned to face him.

His hair was even messier than before and wet. It was plastered to his temples and the longer bits at the back were flat on his neck. He had changed from the school uniform into a casual t-shirt and jeans.

"Football. I had to take a shower. Only clothes I had on hand." he said, answering my unasked question. I nodded and fell into step next to him. I noted that he was almost a head taller than me.

"You play football?" I asked.

"No. I used to, but I stopped a few years ago. Too many jocks there. I play badminton now." he said lightly. I let a brief smile settle on my lips.

"I like badminton too. But I prefer netball." I said. "Want to play a game some time?" I offered. He shook his head.

"Nah. I'm terrible at it." he replied. I squinted as we stepped out of the school building, the full force of the Australian sun glaring down on us. I shielded my eyes with a hand as I followed Derek.

He seemed to know his way around, even taking a short-cut to the student parking lot. When we reached the spacious place, he directed me to a sleek black car.

"Tiff! Clo!" Derek called out as he opened the door, letting me in first. Before I could thank him, the girl in the driver's seat turned to look at me.

"You must be Lucy. I'm Chloe, Derek's eldest sister."

Chloe looked nothing like Derek. Her hair was sleek, combed and fashionable. She had on a perfect and gorgeous smile that exuded happiness and joy. She wore a pair of earring that both depicted a bow and arrow. She made the tacky uniform look like a model's best dress and her complexion was flawless, despite the lack of makeup.

"Chloe's a part-time model." Derek helpfully supplied. I nodded, still trying to comprehend her unnatural beauty that was so... natural. There was a certain grace in every one of her actions.

"You should consider a permanent career in modelling." I said lightly, making her laugh.

"And waste all the grades I've worked so hard to aquire? Nah!" she said. Then, she squinted and observed something on me. I blinked.

"Is there something wrong?" I asked nervously. She shrugged.

"Your earrings." she said quietly. "Put together, they say 'True Story'."

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