"Life is the art of pretending to be normal." 

~Atticus

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A small groan escaped my lips as I scanned over the pages of my math book and tapped my pencil in annoyance. It was now around two-fifteen. Seventh period. Normally, I would be in study hall trying to finish my homework, but everything was spinning so I decided to sit in the library.

My throat still ached from that morning. I unconsciously tugged at my jacket zipper despite knowing it was as high as it would go. It barely covered the new fingerprints but my hair did a well enough job covering the rest as it cascaded down my shoulders. I let out another groan before placing my head on the table.

Despite almost being a senior, I was well behind in my studies. While the rest of my class was taking pre-calculus, I still found myself in geometry. Every day just seemed to get worse and worse no matter how hard I tried to understand. And it's not like the teacher was any help.

She would just ask, "Well, what do you think the answer is?"

God, I hate shapes.

The bell suddenly rang, making me jump. Some students sitting at the tables around me silently began to push in their chairs, while others standing at bookshelves made their way towards the librarian's desk. What was next class, I wondered to myself. My breathing was becoming shallow as the minutes passed and students continued to walk by me.

None of them spared me a second glance. Not that I expected them too. While they seemed to be nice at first, everyone changed when they realized how weird I actually was. Not only that, but Mason would always warn me to stay away from other kids, ever since I was small, so no one would get suspicious of his actions towards me.

Being a mostly optimistic child, I didn't quite understand his threat fully. My first and very last friend was Adaline. We were probably around eight or nine and attended the same elementary school somewhere in Wisconsin.

She always asked if she could come over, and I never knew what to say. Mason was always mean to me and said strange things, so I didn't want her to be exposed to treatment like that. He picked me up one day from school- out of the blue- and ended up talking to Adaline's mother.

A few weeks later, Adaline was crying to me about her parents getting a divorce. From what she'd told me about her parents, they were so in love and always treated each other nicely. Her dad never hit her or yelled at her, or even said mean things to her. I was jealous.

It had something to do with a thing called 'sex'.

Adaline didn't know any better than I did, but apparently Mason and her mother had an affair when he'd gone out on one of his nightly escapades and didn't come home until late the next day. We moved a couple of months later to Jasper. Mason was harsher than usual, slapping me around and even keeping me out of school for a few days to stay locked away in my room, but we both knew I would never try to make friends again.

Even now I felt guilty knowing that it was partially my fault Adaline's parents were separated. But another part of me, deep, deep down, was happy.

Someone else got to feel the same type of pain I did.

I shook my head at the dark thought and scolded myself. No one deserves to be in pain. No matter how bad you feel, you should never wish that upon another person. If anything, I wanted to make others happy. Then again, I also wanted their happiness to rub off on me. But happiness always felt more like a mask to me. An emotion that slipped away the moment I stepped foot into Mason's domain.

"Are you alright?"

My eyes jerked open at the new voice. I hadn't even noticed the tears that had leaked out of my eyes.

The boy standing next to me tilted his head to match the position of my own laying on the table. His hair, which stood fairly tall and unnatural in a way, flopped to one side. A small giggle escaped my lips before I could stop it, making the boy smile as he stood straight again.

"Do you feel better now?" he asked. Despite the smile on his face, his voice was timid and shy. One hand reached up to adjust the pair of black, square glasses on the edge of his nose. I went to open my mouth but quickly shut it. Mason would be furious if he knew I was talking to another kid. Instead of answering verbally, I gave my own timid nod in return.

The boy rubbed the back of his neck. "That's good. My name is Rafael, but my friends call me Raf. What's yours?"

My eyes widened in surprise. Why did he want to know my name? No one really bothered to talk to me, let alone ask me questions. Besides the teachers, of course. I opened my mouth again, but couldn't seem to get the words out.

Mason's blazing eyes suddenly came to mind, and I shot up out of my seat. "I have to go to class."

Rafael gave a sad smile before saying, "O-oh. Okay then. Well, I'm glad you feel better."

My heart dropped at the disappointment that crossed his face. He turned around, but paused as my voice stuttered out, "H-Hope."

"You hope what?" Rafael asked as he raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"My name is Hope." I smiled and brushed my hair out of my face, tucking it behind my ear. Understanding suddenly crossed Rafael's features. His eyes lit up as he took a few short, sudden steps towards me.

"That's a unique name! I love unique names! Well, other than my cousin's. Her name is Coke. I don't know what it's short for, but dad doesn't really like that side of the family anyway." Rafael rambled on.

I let out a small laugh, and the boy's face grew red. "Well, uh, anyway, I can walk you to your class if you want?"

My eyes trailed down to my homework. Did I really want to go to class? I had barely put a dent in math, and Mason always wanted me home early anyway. Rafael glanced at my homework.

"Do you need help with anything? I'm pretty good at math and science."

"How old are you?" I let the question slip before I could stop myself. Rafael didn't seem too bothered by my statement.

"Thirteen, but I'm a sophomore. I was bumped up a couple of grades." He shrugged nonchalantly.

I glanced down at my homework again. Before either of us could say anything else the bell rang again, signaling the end of break between classes. Raf glanced at a clock hanging on the wall beside us.

"I guess I should get going to class if you don't need any help. It was nice meeting you, Hope. I'll talk to you again sometime!" he said.

He adjusted his glasses once more before picking up a few books from the table beside us, waving, and walking away. I let out a relieved breath and tugged on my jacket zipper again. All of my nerves felt on edge. Though I knew Mason would never know about this little incident, the thought of him finding out made my stomach turn.

"He doesn't know everything." I murmured to myself. I grabbed my books, finally deciding that I wouldn't be able to understand my math today- maybe for the rest of eternity- and slowly made my way out of the library.

Art class was in a separate building on the other side of school grounds, and I was already late. There was no point in going now. Instead, I turned the corner and headed for my locker. It was lucky that I left most of my books and work in my locker. It was a precaution in case I couldn't leave home with my backpack- example A being the little incident with Mason that morning. It wasn't like I could find the time to finish homework in peace at the house anyway.

The sound of my locker slamming sounded throughout the empty hallway. "Math, science, history-" I counted the assignments on my fingers as I walked towards the exit. I was itching to fly. Though my wings were small, almost five feet in length and weighing almost nothing when dry, it was still a tight fit when I stuffed them under my jacket. Keeping them hidden all day was uncomfortable.

Feathers liked to irritate and wrinkle my clothes and, on rare occasions, a few liked to fall out. No one really noticed anything so I was always able to scoop them up and stick them into my pocket to dispose of them later.

As I continued to walk, I wondered if Mason would invite his friends over to the house. A shudder passed through my body at the thought. Most nights the group didn't bother me, but I was too paranoid to sleep with my door unlockable. So I liked to sit on the roof or fly around for a few hours until they all left.

Not only that, but the house was the farthest from clean. Mason always got mad when the house was a mess before his little get-togethers. If I left now, then I'd have a few hours to clean and maybe cook some dinner before anyone came over. Maybe then Mason would be happy.

I snorted at the thought. Mason, happy? What a joke. Of course, it probably made him happier than anything to slap me around a few times.

"I should go." I mumbled to myself, "It takes ten minutes to get home. Maybe I could-"

A yelp escaped my mouth as I knocked into something large. My balance was lost, and I stumbled backward. Luckily for me, I was able to catch onto the wall before falling completely onto my butt, but not before a hand slammed right next to my face.

Vince gave me a coy smile. "Hi-ya hopeless. How 'ya doing?"

I winced at the nickname. Mason called me that all the time, and now Vince for the past couple of months. I guess all jerks act and think the same way, I thought grumpily. Without a word, I stepped to the side. Vince's thumb caught hold of my hair and pinned it there, making me wince.

"That's rude. I was talking to you." He teased. His thumb met his pointer finger and he pulled harder on my hair. I shut my eyes in pain before reaching up to release the strands from his fingers.

"I have to go home, Vince. Please let go." His hand caught my wrist before I could pull my hair away. The force of his hold wasn't strong, but I knew he wasn't even trying. With his size and strength, he could break someone my size like a twig.

Vince was Jasper's local bully. He always managed to make his way around and pick on others. Most of the time it was meaningless 'fun', as he'd like to tell the principal, but as he grew older his actions had begun to grow more violent.

His face twisted into an amused smirk. "Home? I was thinking you could come to my place baby." he purred suggestively. My nose scrunched up in disgust. I pulled at my wrist and he released it with a smirk. This was all just a game to him.

"No, thank you. I don't want to go home with you Vince." I forced out through clenched teeth. Once again I moved to side-step him. Something changed in his eyes as I turned, and suddenly his hand was grasping the collar of my jacket.

"What's this?" he hummed. His face appeared to be happy, but I knew better. Vince's eyes were swirling with an anger I'd seen before. My body flinched back into the wall as he pinned me. The collar of my jacket was pulled down farther and I tensed.

"Looks like you've been sleeping around, hopeless," Vince said with a nerve-wracking calm.

"I-I-" I couldn't spit anything out. Vince flipped me around so my back was pressed against the wall once again. I pulled my arm away in desperation to get away but he grabbed my wrist for the second time. There was an incredible amount of force this time, and I felt like my wrist would break.

It wouldn't be the first time.

"L-let go of me Vince," I said, trying to be brave. In reality, my voice was shaking and there were tears in my eyes.

Vince's free hand gently pushed my hair aside to get a better view of the hickey's Mason had left behind. I trembled as he ran a finger across every single one. "Sleeping around isn't attractive, hopeless. Nobody wants a little prostitute."

One of his fingers jabbed into my neck, directly on top of a bruise, and I forced myself not to react. Instead I closed my eyes.

"Look at me!" Vince snapped. I let out a small cry of pain as he squeezed my wrist even harder and opened my eyes.

Vince's face turned into a scowl. "No one wants you. No one cares about you like me. And yet you sell yourself around instead of being with me."

"Let go of me."

"Not until you agree to go with me! I'll show you how a man is supposed to treat a woman."

Something clicked in my mind as he repeated those same words Mason had said. As he leaned forward, I gathered as much saliva as I could before spitting right in his face. Disgust and surprise covered his face. His hold on my wrist loosened just enough for me to rip free. Without any thought, I kneed him directly in his crotch before twisting around and running.

I was hyperventilating by the time I made my way outside. Rain began to fall, but I didn't pay any attention. I took a quick glance around before ripping my jacket off, spreading my wings, and soaring into the sky. My body was trembling from both the cold and fear.

I'd always thought school would be my home away from home. A place where I could be safe when Mason was on a rampage. Vince's actions the past couple of months proved me wrong time and time again. I let out a small sob and wiped at my eyes.

I rubbed at my neck despite knowing the marks wouldn't go away for a few days. Vince's words and actions filled my head, and I felt sick to my stomach.

Next time I'll bring concealer. 

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