© Copyright 2011
All work is property of Leah Crichton, any duplication or reproduction of all or part of the work without explicit permission by the author is illegal.

Excruciation: (ex-krue-she-ay-shun)

a state of acute pain

the infliction of extremely painful punishment or suffering

Before I had a chance to analyze his words, the blonde she-viper entered wearing the same scowl from math class. I bit my tongue, wanting desperately to tell her if she wasn’t careful her face might freeze that way. Secretly, I hoped it did.

With a flip of her lifeless hair she sat down in front of our table and whispered hushed words to the boy next to her. They turned like a couple of synchronized swimmers.

Orion offered a small wave. “This is Quinn,” he said. “It’s her first day. Quinn, this is Chloe,” he pointed to the blonde, “and Tyler.”

I wanted to kick him under the table. Chloe had already determined I was the enemy for whatever reason, and as much as it killed me not to put her in her place, I didn’t want to cause drama on my first day here. “Hi,” I muttered.

Tyler gave me a slight tip of his chin and said, “Hey.” Chloe huffed, her eyes loaded with disgust before she shook her head and turned her back to us.

Good riddance, I thought. 

“I don’t think she likes me,” I whispered to Orion. I hoped he would take this knowledge and refrain from introducing me to anyone else.

“Who, Chloe?”

I nodded.

He dismissed my statement with a wave of his hand. “Ahh, don’t worry ‘bout her. Chloe doesn’t much like anybody.”

“Shocking,” I said. “I mean, she’s such a ray of sunshine and all.”

Orion brought the end of his pencil to his mouth and chuckled softly. “I think you’re bright enough for all of us.”

The rest of the morning passed without incident except that every chance Chloe got, she made it clear I was unwelcome in her world. Pegging Orion as haughty was wrong. He wasn’t arrogant; he was confident to the point where I was jealous. I suppose if I were a guy who strongly resembled a GQ model, I’d be self-assured too, so I couldn’t blame him, but I did watch him in quiet awe.

He’d invited me for lunch and by the time we arrived, the cafeteria was packed. After collecting our sandwiches and drinks, Orion, who now carried my backpack and lunch tray, led the way outside. His size forced people in the crowd to move. It reminded me of the parting of the Red Sea and made my journey from lunch line to table remarkably easy. Now if he could just precede me everywhere I went, my life on crutches would be effortless.

He headed straight for a picnic table where the three others he’d been talking to that morning sat.

“Guys,” he said to them, “This is Quinn. It’s her middle name. She won’t tell me her first. Quinn, meet the guys.”

“Hey! I’m not a guy.” A blonde girl with corkscrew curls smiled at me. “It’s nice to meet you, Quinn. I’m Alicia, and for the record, I wouldn’t tell him, either. He’s a real know it all.” She leaned in close and added, “But you can tell me, if you want.” 

Could a voice be sweet? Because hers was. I found myself smiling. “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.”

Alicia introduced her twin, Alex. Like his sister he was tall and blonde, but his eyes were hazel, not green like hers. Now that I was closer, Mona, the girl I mistook for Orion’s girlfriend could have been his sister, except her eyes were inky and dark like her hair. All four of them were absurdly good looking, and I sat meekly, hyper aware that one of these things was not like the others, and that thing was me. Their appearance made me uncomfortably aware of the scar that taunted me each time I looked in a mirror. I brushed my hair forward in an effort to hide it while Orion observed me with a sad, tender expression.

Chloe walked by us sneering and mumbling something to herself, which shook Orion from his temporary distress. “Our mystery girl, Quinn, is Chloe’s latest hate-on,” he told the group. As he spoke he unpacked his lunch, which was so large it could have fed me for days.

I sighed.

“Don’t worry,” Alicia said. “Chloe’s just miffed ‘cause she’s got an obsession with Orion.”

I raised an eyebrow. Orion took a bite of his sandwich. “What?” he asked, oblivious.

“Well, no wonder she hates me. You’ve been with me all morning. Kinda like rubbing salt in a wound, don’t you think?” My eyes went wide and I nodded to his food. “Are you really going to eat all of that?” 

“Chloe just needs attention. It has nothing to do with me. She’s used to being the princess and you’re stealing her spotlight. She doesn’t like it.” His hand settled over his abdomen. “And to answer your other question, I’m a growing boy, so yes, I plan to eat it all.”

Mona rolled her eyes. “Growing boy my ass, more like a pig. Does telling yourself that it has nothing to do with you help you sleep at night?”

“It sure does,” he said. Any hint of sadness that was there before was gone from his face. “Besides, Quinn-slash-I-will-guess-her-real-name is a fighter, even if she doesn’t know it. Look at her red hair. She’s a wild child in disguise. She can hold her own against Chloe. She’s a tiger.” He winked, sending my heart bouncing, thumping so loudly I was sure everyone at our table could hear it.

“Hold my own?”

“Don’t worry about her,” Mona said reassuringly. “Really. Orion’s right. She’s just a princess who doesn’t want people to pay attention to anyone but her. Especially him.”

Great. This was fantastic news. In my first day at school I’d managed to befriend this perfect, exquisite boy who was now obsessed with revealing my true identity and making me mortal enemies with the prom queen. That took the kind of talent only someone like me could possess.

The rest of the day passed without incident, except for Chloe’s constant contempt. I called Luke to tell him I’d find my own way home and waited for dismissal. I felt like a child trying to sleep on Christmas Eve, filled with anticipation of some great gift you’d get to open in a matter of hours. Only Orion wasn’t a gift for me, and I wouldn’t get to keep him.

***

His car was one that had made my initial count in the parking lot that morning: the cherry red Audi R8. At this point in my day, nothing was surprising. A guy who was light years out of my league was showering me with attention, a girl I didn’t know had made me her enemy, and somewhere along the way, I’d managed to snag a group of friends.  Following the day’s unbelievable events, I probably could have anticipated that he’d drive a car like this, but it was still jaw-dropping.

I hobbled around it, eyeing it with palpable envy. The body was wide and sat low to the ground on chrome rims. The rear spoiler was retractable, and a peek in the back window showed off the monster engine and the distinctive circles of the Audi logo.

“Sweet Jesus,” I said, not even bothering to try to hide my admiration.

“I know,” Orion beamed proudly. “You like it, Moon Unit?”

“Last name’s not Zappa,” I said, “and I like it as much as your parents must like you. An Audi? Really? My brother would die.”

His smile faded and he focused on his shoes without saying a word.

“Seriously though, your parents must love you a lot. Either that or they run an illegal drug operation in Colombia.” I stopped and smirked. “You're not a drug dealer, are you?”

This made him laugh. He ran his finger along the roof of the car.  “Rest assured, I'm not a criminal. Zero to sixty in four point four seconds, top speed of three hundred kilometers an hour.”

My eyes widened. The whole subject of speed and cars didn’t sit well with me anymore. “Why would anyone need to drive that fast?  That's ludicrous.”

Orion stood beside the passenger door and held it open. “No one needs to drive three hundred kilometers per hour, it’s just that I could if I really wanted to. A status thing, you know?”

I started to get in but stopped, thinking I shouldn't be riding around in a fast, fancy sports car. “Are you compensating for something?”

“Wouldn't you like to know,” he teased. As if he could sense my apprehension, he continued. “Hey, don’t worry. I’ll drive like a perfect gentleman. You’ll be safe. I promise.”

I let the air out of my lungs, smiled, then lied to his face. “I wasn’t worried.”

I gave him the address to the medical centre, which wasn’t far from the school.  Before my spell of good fortune, I was supposed to take the bus and have Luke come after, but this was unquestionably better. “Hey, would you mind dropping me off at the front? My leg is a little sore.”

“Of course.” Totally unsuspecting, he pulled up in front of the building, parking the car to come around and open my door. “I’ll be right there, just going to go and park the car.” 

I smiled sweetly and took my crutches from him. “Okay, thanks.” As soon as he was out of sight, I turned and hobbled as fast as I could inside. It looked just like a smaller version of the wretched hospital. Every time I walked through these doors, I cringed at the memory. Molly, the receptionist, looked up with a warm smile on her face. “Ireland, how are you today?”

My eyes stole a sideways glance at the entrance, ensuring that Orion had not come in yet. I leaned in and whispered, trying to convey the utter importance of this conversation. “Molly, listen, I need your help. There isn’t much time. My name is Quinn, okay? Not Ireland, just Quinn.”

There wasn’t even a pause in her response. “Okay, Quinn, why?” She grinned. “Good day for it. Bruce isn’t here.” she added. 

Bruce was my therapist. “Where is he?”

She shrugged. “He’s in New Mexico.”

“What? Why?” 

“Yeah, some family emergency. Now, why the conspiracy?”

“I can’t explain now,” I told her. I felt Orion’s presence before I saw him. His size blocked out the stream of sunlight in the doorway as he stood with his hands tucked into his pockets. 

Molly’s eyes shifted in his direction and almost bulged from their sockets when they finally settled on him. Her confidence disappeared and was replaced by sudden nervousness. “Can I help you?” 

It was then that I decided Orion’s effect on people, specifically females, was a very entertaining thing to watch. A calm and collected person turned into a blubbering mess just looking at him. I was glad to acknowledge that it wasn’t just me he had this effect on. It made me feel better about being enchanted by someone I had known for about ten hours. His hand withdrew from its hiding place in his pocket and came to rest on my shoulder. “Oh, I’m with her.”

Molly’s eyes moved from Orion to me and a flash of total understanding crossed her face. “Just have a seat.” Crimson stained her cheeks to the same tone mine had been all day.

As we headed to the waiting area to sit down, Orion was amused. “You had me drop you off so you could keep your little secret, didn’t you, Ebony Rose?”

“You’re doubling up,” I told him. “Now you’re twice as wrong.” I was still amused by Molly’s reaction to him.

“You lie like a rug. It is Ebony Rose or you wouldn’t be smirking.” He sat and stretched his legs out far in front of him.

“Not Ebony. Not Rose. Not Ebony Rose, I swear.”

The dimples on his face began to appear as he poked my arm gently. “You don’t seem to be forthcoming. You aren’t going to share the reason for your smirk with me either, are you?”

My smile grew. “Negative.” 

He shrugged. “Alright then.”

“Alright then what?” I asked. I wasn’t prepared for him to give up so easily.

“Alright then, I won’t press for details.”

“Good, I wasn’t going to give you any.”

“I possess a great deal of patience. You’ll tell me eventually.”

“You could be waiting an awfully long time.”

“I’ve got more time than you can possibly imagine.” 

“You seem pretty sure of yourself.” Our flirting was a fun game. Probably the most fun I’d had in a very long time.

“I’m very sure of myself.”

“Why? Nobody else is, people just walk around pretending to be confident when really they are second guessing everything, everyone, especially themselves.”

“Not me.” He winked at me and my stomach filled with butterflies.

“Not you?”

“Nope. I usually get what I want. Makes it easy to be sure of yourself.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Really.” His gaze left mine and shifted toward the desk, where a woman in scrubs stood with a clipboard in her hand. “They’re ready for you. Want me to come in?”

“If you want to.” I struggled to stand and wondered why I'd just invited him along to watch. 

I could feel the heat from his hand settle on my lower back as he pushed me up from the chair. “See?” 

I turned my head to look at him. “See what?”

“I always get what I want.” 

The new therapist wasn’t initially as terrible as I had imagined she would be, but it was only the first part, when we worked mostly on walking. After that Julie, said therapist, falsely assumed I had a day job at a carnival sideshow and could force my body into the most unnatural positions. These exercises rapidly quashed any pleasantness I could possibly hope to associate with her in the future. I wondered what I had done to her that she felt the need to inflict the greatest pain imaginable on me. What sins must one commit to be worthy of such atrocities? I liked my old therapist, Bruce, a whole lot more, and after being subjected to Julie’s torment, I was certain Bruce must’ve liked me too. If I'd had the strength and capability to do so, I would have kicked her.

Orion’s presence was great incentive for the walking portion because walking in the direction of a man that looked like him was easy. If I kept it up at this pace, I’d be on the track team in  no time. When the torture session started, though, his face took on a grimace. I assumed he had a weak stomach for the discomfort of others, and when it was over he proved me right by rushing to my side. “Are you gonna be okay?”

“I’ll live. The Punisher might not, but I will.”

“The Punisher?” One side of his lip curled into a faint grin.

“Julie. Whatever her name is, she’s The Punisher.”

Orion helped me up and wrapped his arm around me. “You know what? I like you. You’re spunky. That’s cool. You’re like me. You don’t walk around pretending to be confident. You just are.”

Wow. Not even close, but he didn't need to know that. I gave him a sly smile. “Thanks Orion, you’re not so bad yourself.”

“Boy,” he said with a wink, “do I have you fooled.”