The Seven Devils (YA "New Adult" Romance) (3 page)

Chapter 3

The only class I was looking forward to was my last class of the day: band. I had loved being involved in band since the moment I first got my hands on a French horn. My mother had played for a year or two when she was in school and had never gotten around to selling her horn. I took right to it from the moment I found it up in our attic several years ago. I was hoping Minster would have at least a moderately accomplished band, but my hopes for that were fairly dashed when I met the director, an ugly bald man named Mr. Hanover. After I introduced myself to him, he said with a tired sigh, “Look, we’ve never had a French horn in this band and I know very little about the instrument. If you need help, you better be able to figure it out on your own.” I didn’t know what to say to that, so I simply nodded and sat down in an empty seat next to the trombone players.

As Mr. Hanover began passing out music, I turned to the girls sitting in the trombone section next to me and said, “Is he always this grouchy?”

The short brunette directly to the left of me nearly jumped out of her skin when she turned her head and saw who had spoken to her. Her friend, a chunky girl with beautiful long hair elbowed her in the side and replied, “He’s always like this at the beginning of the year. He convinces himself every summer that this will be the year he whips the band into shape and we’ll win first place in the state competition. He’ll calm down by midyear when he realizes that we’re still hopeless. You’re Ellen, right?” I nodded, and she continued, “My name is Erin and this is Melanie. How do you like Minster so far? I’ll bet you hate it. It must be so boring here compared to Akron.”

I smiled and said, “Well so far it’s alright. I haven’t had the chance to meet too many people though.”

“I saw Lexie and her group talking to you before lunch,” Melanie said earnestly. “What did she say to you? Was it awful?”

I laughed quietly and said, “Lexie, huh? She and her friends didn’t seem to like me much.”

Erin grinned and said, “Forget about them... they’re so full of themselves. They won’t hang out with anyone whose parents don’t bring home loads of money. They’re so shallow. Plus they’re totally all anorexic.”

Erin’s tone turned darker as she added, “We saw you with Neil Reynolds at lunch. Why in the world did you sit with him? He is such a freak. Everyone is dying to know what’s going on between you two. I almost choked to death when I saw you two actually laugh together. I can’t imagine the things he must have said to you. Honestly, what were you thinking sitting with him?” My smile faltered and I was about to ask what she meant when Mr. Hanover called the class to order and started us on some warm-up scales.

I could barely concentrate during class, constantly thinking about what Erin had been saying. I tried to speak to her and Melanie as we packed up our instruments after class to find out what they knew about Neil, but Mr. Hanover called me to his podium. He apologized for being short with me at the start of class and asked if I thought the music would be too hard for me. I assured him that I would be able to keep up and then rushed into the hallway. Erin was already gone, but Melanie was there waiting for me.

As soon as I walked up to her she whispered to me quickly, “Don’t tell anyone I said this to you and especially never ever say anything to Neil about this. Or anything about me at all. Just… stay away from him, okay? You seem nice, and he’s dangerous. God only knows what he would do if he heard me saying this to you,” she said and kissed the cross pendant on her necklace.

I was about to ask her what she was talking about when she sprinted down the hallway and out the door. What in the world was that all about? Was that girl some sort of religious nut, or was Neil actually a bad person? Wouldn’t I be able to tell if he were dangerous? Absolutely perplexed, I walked slowly down the opposite hall to my locker and found Neil there, already waiting for me.

I couldn’t help but feel a little apprehensive seeing him leaning up against my locker, especially with Melanie’s warning still replaying in my mind. Neil was looking the other way and didn’t see me approach so I had a little time to really study him. He was at least six or seven inches taller than I was. A lock of hair fell into his eyes as I watched. He brushed it away impatiently, looking my way as he did so and saw me coming. His face lit up as his eyes met mine and my heart seemed to skip a beat. I immediately tried to dismiss my concern over whatever it was about Neil that made Melanie so nervous. Neil may have a bad reputation for whatever reason at this school, but I was determined to make my own decisions about him.

“Hi,” I said, feeling suddenly shy again.

“Hey,” he replied, stepping back to give me room to put my things in my locker. “How was your first day?” He seemed truly concerned. I must look miserable.

I forced a smile and replied with sarcastic enthusiasm, “Oh I just love it here… the people here are so nice.” Neil laughed and seemed to relax a little. A group of girls walked by, all of them wearing those Tabfest shirts. “You have to tell me what’s going on with those shirts,” I whispered to Neil. “I thought when I first walked in this morning that there was a school uniform that I didn’t know about.”

Neil laughed and explained, “There is this party every summer where they collect the tabs off beer cans and donate them to a charity. I guess they can be recycled and are worth some money if you get enough of them. The kids here at school think it’s cool to go and get trashed and then wear the shirts to school on the first day back to prove how great they are… breaking the underage drinking law while donating to charity.”

I laughed and got what books I needed into my bag, thankful that we were allowed to leave our instruments locked up in the band room. We headed outside and I asked, “Have you lived here all of your life?”

“Yeah, unfortunately,” Neil replied with a smirk. “It really wouldn’t be that bad of a place if it weren’t for the people here.” After a pause he asked, “Did you actually get a chance to meet many of the other students or were you too busy with classes?”

“Well, right before lunch a group of girls surrounded me and decided unanimously that I wasn’t cool enough for them…” I began.

“Lexie?” Neil interrupted.

I laughed and said, “Yeah, how did you know? Is she notorious for harassing new people?”

Neil smiled and said, “You’re the first new student we’ve had in years. It just seemed like something she would do.”

I nodded as we turned off of Seventh Street and onto Paris Drive, realizing that once again, I had not been paying attention as to how to get to and from my new home. "I also spoke with two girls named Erin and Melanie in band, but we didn't have much time to get to know each other.” I paused for a moment and then continued, “Actually, it seemed as if they think I’m crazy to even talk to you. Is there something I should know?" I asked, arching an eyebrow playfully, trying to make it sound like I was kidding.

Neil ran his fingers back through his hair and stopped walking.  My heart seemed to drop and I stopped beside him. Had I made him angry? I was about to apologize for what I said when he replied, “You won’t meet many people here who have anything nice to say about me. Feel free to listen to what they have to say, but take it with a grain of salt. They don't really know me.  I just want you to decide for yourself whether or not I am worth your time."  

I nodded and promised that I would. His hand met mine and he softly squeezed it for a moment, making my heart flutter.  That was the second time today he had touched me, and it felt nice. For some reason Neil wasn’t giving me panicky feelings like all the other guys I’d met recently. I was curious to know what it was that the town thought of him and why, but I let the topic go instead of asking for more details. I was going to trust my gut on him.

As we continued home, Neil asked me about living in Akron. I explained that I had not been exactly sad to leave it since I wasn’t leaving much of anything behind. I was beginning to miss the hills already, though, as Minster and the surrounding areas were completely flat. I felt so at ease talking to him. How could Melanie possibly think he was dangerous? Maybe she was one of those wackos who think every kid who wears black is out to bomb the school or whatever. She couldn’t know the real Neil.

When we arrived at my house I blushed furiously and asked Neil if he would like to come in for a little while. He turned away from me and ran his fingers through his hair again. My body tensed and I knew he was about to reject me already. “Are you sure you want that?” he asked, turning back to me slowly.

I grinned and said, “I’m sure. My mom’s probably not even back yet from the job hunt.”

I unlocked the door and led him into the living room, thankful to find that it wasn’t too embarrassingly messy. We sat down on the couch and turned to face each other. He seemed to have sat down as far away from me as the couch allowed, and I tried not to take it personally.

“Your brother is in my calculus class,” Neil said. “The two of you don’t seem as if you have anything in common.”

“I’m not sure if that is a compliment or an insult,” I replied. “There are a lot of things that I don’t like about Austin, but I do respect his ability to make friends so easily.”

“He lost my respect already, laughing at you like that in the cafeteria,” Neil responded, shaking his head slightly.

I was quiet for a moment, reliving the lunch period in my mind. “I’m so glad you came and saved me from that mess,” I admitted quietly. “Why did you do it?”

Neil thought for a moment, looking into my eyes, and said simply, “I wanted to speak to you. I want to get to know you.”

I blushed slightly and said, “I’m not all that interesting.”

“I think you are,” Neil said, edging closer and taking my hand.

I immediately got goose bumps up and down my arms and smiled, unsure of what to say or do. After being so tense and frightened lately, it was such a relief to meet someone who made me feel accepted, liked even. It was a little nerve-wracking however since I had never actually been in a situation like this. I was sixteen and still had never been out on a date or had a real boyfriend.

I suddenly felt my stomach clench. Neil could ask me out or kiss me at any moment. Was I ready for that? What if I was a bad kisser? What if my breath smelled funny? Or what if I he made a move and I messed it up? My heart pounded as my brain laid out every way I could screw up whatever chance I had with Neil.

“Can I ask you a really personal question?” Neil asked suddenly, a serious expression on his face.

“Of course,” I said a little too quickly. I took a deep breath. “Anything at all.”

“Are your parents divorced? You haven’t mentioned your father at all and I get the feeling that he is not here with you,” Neil said.

I looked away for a moment and remembered the feel of his huge hands around my throat. My breath became shallow as I tried to push those memories out of my mind. “I..” I began, not knowing what to say or how to explain his absence. “Well… he’s not..”

Neil cupped my hand between his and moved beside me. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.”

“No,” I replied, “you’re not prying. It’s just… I don’t like thinking about him. He was… Well, he’s gone and I’m glad.”

Neil nodded. “I wish I could get away from my parents. We don’t exactly see eye to eye.”

I smiled and looked down at my hands in his. A few days ago I was an emotional wreck, and now I was holding hands with this amazing guy. How had things happened so fast? It felt unreal.

His touch had a definite effect on me. My mind was going haywire, already imagining what it would be like to kiss Neil or to touch his arms or his chest. He seemed so strong, but it was a little hard to tell with all those layers he was wearing. On the walk home he had pulled up the sleeves of his shirt to just under his elbows. From what I could see, his forearms alone seemed at least twice as thick as mine.

Part of me wanted to be closer to him. Another part couldn’t help but look at his hands and speculate how many ways he could hurt me. My face burned as I realized how screwed up I was. I should just be able to enjoy the moment.

“Hey,” Neil said, startling me out of my thoughts. His fingers brushed my cheek. “What’s going on in that head of yours to make you blush so deeply?”