"Load up everyone" Mr Adam calls as we all file out from the airport to the coaster bus that the school rented for us. Even though I've always dreamt of leaving Danzel Island it feels kinda nice to be back here.

I don't know how I managed to survive the plane ride back here, because between Erik's confused stare at my sudden distancing and Aaron's glare at every dude that walked past me, it felt like hell.

I bless the ones who made sleeping pills because it gave me a reason to not have to worry but now that we're getting on the bus it's a whole different ball game.

Kome already sat in a different bus the last time so she definitely isn't in my bus so I can't seat with her and now I have to choose between sitting with Aaron and sitting with Erik.

I really, really want to sit with Erik but I don't know what Aaron might do to him or me if I do that but I'm too scared to sit beside Aaron.

"You're sitting with me" Aaron says from behind me and I feel a cold shiver run down my spine.

"Do we really have to?" I ask him.

"You don't want to sit next to your boyfriend?" Aaron asks and I gulp involuntarily.

I laugh nervously, "It's not like I don't want to sit next to you but I just don't want the unnecessary attention" I lie.

"I see" he says and he hums like he's thinking about something and my oh my does his voice sound so deep and yummy.

I pinch myself hard because I can't believe that I just thought of him in that manner, "Then I'll go in first and you'll sit down beside me"

He walks away, giving me no room to argue with him further. My stomach begins to twist and it feels like my legs may give way under me at any moment.

I stagger to the airport restroom and dash into a stall, sure enough what I managed to eat for breakfast comes pouring out and it makes my body feel weaker than it already was.

My stomach keeps lurching and it makes me feel dizzy, I stagger back out and sit on a bench outside the airport.

"Are you alright?" Erik asks from behind me and my shoulders tense immediately.

"I'm just feeling a bit nauseous" I say and pat my stomach in a bid to calm it but it doesn't work, "if I sit for a while it will become better"

"Are you sure about that?" Erik asks and places his palm on my forehead, "you look a bit pale and you're burning up"

"I am?" I ask and check my temperature and I am indeed burning up, "at least this will kill me first before he does" I mumble.

"I'm taking you to the hospital" Erik says with finality and pulls me up, I stumble a little but shift back when he attempts to steady me.

I don't want Aaron seeing me being held by Erik because only the heavens knows what he'd do to me or Erik and I really just want to live a peaceful life.

"I don't really like being touched when I'm sick" I lie and smile apologetically at him and he scratches the back of his neck awkwardly, "lead the way and I'll follow right behind you"

*

"Where were you?" Kome asks.

I dump all the clothes in my suitcase into the laundry basket and push the suitcase into the storehouse, "I was at the hospital" I say and roll my tense shoulders, "I got a little feverish so Erik took me to the hospital"

"Erik? How nice" Kome says and I bet if she was standing in front of me she'd be wiggling her eyebrows at me, "but isn't that a little bit dangerous in your current situation?"

"It sure is and that's why I made sure to stay a considerable distance behind him" I walk up the stairs to my room slowly and tiredly, "All this Aaron business got me so tired that I don't even know what to do anymore"

"I feel you baby girl" Kome sighs, "just make sure to always have your pocket knife, pepper spray and rape whistle with you everywhere you go"

"I will, thanks Kome" I smile at how thoughtful she can be, "Right now I want to go to bed 'cause I'm still jet lagged"

"See ya"

"See ya"

"Love ya"

"Love ya more" I say and send kisses through the phone.

My room is still the same way I left it, neat and tidy. I flop down on my bed and rub my tired eyes. I don't know if lying to Aaron is a good thing, what happens if he finds out that I lied to him just because I didn't want to him to kill me, he'd kill me then. The only way to make him set me free on his own accord is if I make him lose interest in me without letting him be irritated. I just need to show him how boring and mundane my daily life is then he'll be bored and let me go, easy peazy lemon squeezy.

*

*

"Remind me why I decided to come to school on the first day after summer break?" I ask Kome as I cover my eardrums, the loud noise of the students catching up with each other on their summers is really irritating to my ears and I just wish they'd zip their pie holes.

"Tell me about it" Kome yawns, "my mom pursued me out of the house with a bat 'cause I refused to budge"

"That would have been a sight to see" I laugh and she jabs me in the stomach.

A hand grabs I and Kome's hand and links theirs with ours and I'm about to get hostile when the familiar smell of Daphne's perfume chokes me.

"Good morning darling ladies" Daphne sings and Kome laughs at her off pitch, "you think you can do better?"

"I don't think I can, I know I can" Kome says proudly and they start bantering between each other.

I laugh as I listen to them banter, I stop walking the moment I notice an absence of students in front of me like their trying not to get too close to something or someone.

I bite my lip nervously as I make eye contact with Aaron who is putting books in his locker and looking effortlessly gorgeous like those models in the magazines.

I stop walking and unlink my hand from Daphne, she looks confused and I begin to feel a cold sweat building up as he keeps staring at me intently.

I take a step back and then a few more before I speed walk in the opposite direction and away from Aaron Smith who looks like he could murder someone who I hope isn't me because I really don't want to die this young without fulfilling anything on my bucket list.

I take the steps two at a time without pausing to catch my breath because I have this eerie feeling at the back of my neck that someone is walking behind me at the same speed that I'm walking and it's creeping me out.

"Hey little mermaid stop walking so fast" the person calls and I stop walking because there's only one animal that would call me that way.

"What do you want now Sailem?" I ask as I slow down my pace so that he can walk beside me.

"Nothing much Ariel" he shrugs, "Just wanna walk my friend to class"

"So that's what we are?" I ask and quirk up a brow, "friends?"

"Well what else would we be if not friends?" he asks as he collects the books from my hand.

"I'd call us acquaintances" I say and nod my head and he gasps playfully and places a hand on his chest like I just hurt him.

"After all we went through in Mexico city I think I've earned myself the right to call you a friend" Sailem says and winks.

"I don't think so" I say and tap my jaw thoughtfully, "your words were pretty harsh the last time"

"Aww shucks baby girl I was just playing with you" he says and waves his hand in the air.

"Is that so?" I ask and laugh and he grins at me. We reach my class and he hands me my books, "thank you for being a kind bell boy Sailem"

"Anything for the lady" he says and chuckles "see you at lunch princess"

"I never said I was having lunch with you" I call after him but he pretends not to hear me, typical Sailem.

I enter my class and make my way to the middle row where I can see the board clearly without having to sit in the front row and look like a dweeb, which I definitely am not.

I bring out my pencil case from my bag and place it at the edge of my table and place my notes on the other side of it, I might not like to admit it but I think I have a slight case of OCD.

A scrunched up paper ball lands on my table and I open it slowly incase it's anything gross which I don't want to land on my table. It's a note and the awful handwriting reminds me of Lanna.

I turn my head and Lanna is seating at the back row with a wide grin on her face, she waves me over eagerly and a few girls sitting beside her scrunch their face in disagreement but she just ignores them.

"Come over" she mouths to me, I shake my head and she scrunches her brows, "I said come over"

The intensity of her gaze has me standing up immediately, she's one of the reasons I never turned my head to look at the back row. Lanna's brown hair unlike mine is bright and falls down in curls, she has small brown eyes that make her face so cute and she's got that body of a model that makes you do a double take.

"Jeez Lanna, no need to kill me with your heavy gaze" I mutter as I take the seat beside her which one of her goons vacated for me but not after shooting death glares at me.

"Today's really weird" I say and Lanna turns to look at me like she's giving me her full attention, "I thought that when we leave Mexico we'd all ignore each other and continue on with our lives like we never bonded over drinks in Mexico"

"Well after all we went through I think we'd never forget each other" Lanna says and stretches her toned and tanned legs on the table.

"When did you find the time to tan your legs?" I ask Lanna as I examine her legs which are mighty fine if I do say so.

She chuckles and then starts laughing hysterically, "Oh Ariel you poor, poor sweet thing" she rubs my hair fondly, "you sure have a long way to go before understanding what it takes to be a hot goddess like myself"

"Tell me about it" a girl sitting beside me says and I want to smack her on the head.

"Hush darling, I wasn't talking to you" Lanna says dismissively before turning her attention back to me, "Now tell me, did all my time spent on your makeup help you snag a man?"

I freeze like a deer in headlights, I already suspected that the people around me would start feeling suspicious about the events that conspired on the day of the party.

"Ariel, you okay?" Lanna asks as she waves her perfectly manicured nails in front of my face.

The sound of the door opening with a bang snaps me out of my thoughts and makes me attentive of my surroundings. Everyone's attention goes to the wide opened doors and my eyes follow as well as we watch a classmate of ours being flung into the room like a piece of tissue paper.

Aaron walks in with a menacing aura surrounding him and I begin to worry if those around me can hear how insane my heart beat is right now. The guy tries to stand up but Aaron kicks him on the chest and he falls back down with a loud thud.

My mouth is dry like I've run out of saliva to swallow, he raises his foot once more and begins to kick the guy multiple times in the ribs and with each kick I begin to feel more and more sick.

I can't believe this is the monster I've become shackled with, my head is spinning and I keep imagining the person on the floor being me, receiving those multiple kicks to the stomach.

The sound of the crack of maybe one or two ribs makes me gag and I'm sure that right now I'm going to throw up without hesitation. Aaron stops kicking just at the same time that I hurriedly stand up from my seat.

Everyone turns to look at the dumb specimen who is me but the only thing that I can think of is getting out of here so I can empty my stomach and breathe properly.

Aaron and I lock eyes and a chill runs down my spine immediately, I grab my bag and run out the classroom and straight to the girls bathroom.

I have never watched any of Aaron's acts of brutality, I've only ever heard of them or seen pictures of the before and after of his victims so watching him doing it in person really makes a girl feel like she could pass out at any moment.

I send a thanks to the heavens when I walk into the bathroom and find it empty, I rush to the first stall I see and puke out what I managed to have for breakfast.

How would anyone see that monster and feel any romantic feelings for him, don't they ever worry that he'll get bored of them and snap their neck while they sleep?

The bathroom door swings open and I flush the toilet before stepping out. I stop immediately my eyes take in Aaron standing in the girls bathroom with blood dripping down his right hand knuckle.

I feel my knees go weak but I maintain my posture, I stop mid gag because I don't know what might trip off his temper this time, "Is that blood?" I ask

"It's not mine" he answers in a cool tone and I wonder if he thinks it'll make me feel better knowing it's not his.

"It's the first day of school and you already have blood on your hands" I say and I can't help the tone of repulsion my voices comes out with. I gag once more and run back into the toilet, the door to the bathroom opens and closes once more and I'm really hoping and praying that he left and when I say left I mean not like he went to get a weapon to kill me with but like read the room and took a ride out of the bathroom.

"What have I gotten myself into?" I ask myself as I sit on the lid of the toilet and start sobbing into my palms.